Welcome to the Forward’s coverage of Conservative Judaism, one of the three major streams of U.S. Judaism. Conservative Jews are generally more observant than Reform Jews but less so than Orthodox Jews. The movement is led by the…
Conservative Judaism
The Latest
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News Conservative Judaism Seeks To Rebrand Itself — But as What?
(JTA) — Conservative Judaism is at a crossroads. The movement is committed to Jewish tradition, but it’s seeing a growing number of its young people walk out the door — most often to Reform Judaism. American Jews who self-identify as Conservative increasingly are leading lives at odds with the core values and rules of Conservative…
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Fast Forward Benjamin Netanyahu Vows More Funds for Reform and Conservative
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office will match funding given by the Jewish Agency for Israel to the country’s Conservative and Reform movements, according to a Jewish Agency spokesman. The Jewish Agency provides some $1.09 million each in funding to Israel’s Reform and Conservative movements, in addition to $546,000 in funding to Israeli Orthodox congregations….
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Fast Forward 40% of Conservative Rabbis Would Perform Intermarriages
A survey of 249 Conservative rabbis finds that almost half have defied the movement’s ban on attending interfaith weddings and that 40 percent would officiate at such weddings if the movement permitted them to do so. The survey, conducted by the New York-based Big Tent Judaism (formerly named the Jewish Outreach Institute) is believed to…
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Fast Forward Benjamin Netanyahu Affirms Rights of Reform and Conservative Jews
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reaffirmed his commitment to assuring the rights of all Jewish denominations in Israel. He made the statement in a letter to the AJC, the organization reported Thursday. The statement came in response to a letter sent to Netanyahu by AJC Jerusalem chair Matthew Bronfman and director Avital Leibovich following comments…
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Fast Forward Israelis Object to Orthodox-Only Rabbi Rules: Poll
More than two-thirds of Israelis object to the removal of a Conservative rabbi from a bar mitzvah ceremony for disabled children intended to take place at the Israeli president’s residence. The ceremony has been run for 20 years by the Conservative movement and was scheduled to take place at the end of June. It was…
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News Who’s Investigating Rabbis Who Cross the Line?
A rabbi who surfs the Internet for transsexual escorts stands trial for borrowing and stealing almost $500,000 from his congregation to pay off an extortionist. Another rabbi is sentenced to more than six years in jail for videotaping naked women in his synagogue’s ritual bath. A third rabbi is being told to leave his pulpit…
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News JTS Puts Rare Gutenberg Bible on Block Amid Fiscal Woes
The Jewish Theological Seminary plans to sell a 1455 edition of the Book of Esther from a rare Gutenberg Bible at auction on June 19, the latest sign that the school is grappling with a long-running financial crisis. The eight Latin pages are expected to fetch between $500,000 and $700,000 at auction, said Richard Austin,…
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Fast Forward Conservatives Turn to Musical Instruments in Services
(JTA) — When Rabbi Bruce Dollin first talked to the board at his Conservative synagogue about launching an alternative, singing-centered Shabbat morning service that would use musical instruments, he didn’t encounter much resistance. Over the two decades he had led the Hebrew Educational Alliance in Denver, attendance at the synagogue’s regular Shabbat davening – a traditional…
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