This is 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
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Fast Forward Schechter School Closing Adds to Boston Anguish Over Rabbi Barry Starr Scandal
(JTA) — It’s been a rough few weeks for Conservative Jews in the Boston suburbs known as the South Area. First, Rabbi Barry Starr, the longtime spiritual leader of Temple Israel of Sharon, resigned amid allegations that he used synagogue discretionary funds to pay about $480,000 in hush money to an extortionist to hide a…
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News Storybook Boston Suburb of Sharon Shaken by Rabbi Barry Starr Hush Money Sex Scandal
Rabbi Miriam Spitzer did not have to mention him by name. The class of sixth graders at Temple Israel, in Sharon, Massachusetts, knew exactly whom Spitzer was thinking of when she dedicated that day’s lesson to Elisha ben Abuyah, a revered rabbi who became a heretic. “The lesson was that the Torah taught [by Abuyah]…
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Fast Forward Boston Rabbi Barry Starr Leaves Pulpit Over Affair and Missing Cash
Rabbi Barry Starr, a leader in the Conservative movement who has served a suburban Boston synagogue for nearly three decades, resigned after acknowledging his marital infidelity. Starr informed congregants at Temple Israel, a Conservative synagogue in Sharon, of his resignation in an emailed letter sent last week, the Boston Globe reported. In addition to engaging…
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Music Ex-London Mayor Ken Livingstone Says Wealth Turns British Jews to Right
British Jews increasingly support the country’s Conservative Party because they are richer than they used to be, the former mayor of London said. Ken Livingstone made the comment Monday on the BBC’s Newsnight program, during a discussion about how ethnic minorities vote. He said that income, not minority status, determined a person’s voting preference. “As…
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Opinion Rightist Foils Bid to Open Books of Settlement Unit
Tzufim settlement outpost, western Samaria, October 2012 / Getty Images The chairman of the Knesset’s law and legislation committee on Thursday postponed, for the second time in two weeks, a scheduled vote on a bill requiring transparency in government funding of West Bank settlements. The bill has majority support in the committee, whose membership mirrors…
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Fast Forward 49% of Israelis Say Accept Reform, Conservative
Nearly half of Israelis surveyed said Israel’s Chief Rabbinate should officially recognize Reform and Conservative Judaism. In the survey of 500 adults, 49 percent “strongly feel that the Chief Rabbinate should officially recognize the Reform and Conservative streams of Judaism,” Walla.com reported, because this “will in turn strengthen the connection with American Jews.” The poll,…
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News Uganda’s Century-Old Jewish Community Riven by Sectarian Divide
(JTA) — On Fridays at sundown, the Jewish residents of this village set amid the lush hills of eastern Uganda gather in the synagogue to greet Shabbat. The room is bare, the light is dim and the Conservative prayer books are worn. But the spare surroundings do little to diminish the enthusiasm of the men,…
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News America’s Top Atheist Aims To Build Jewish Support for Ungodly Agenda
David Silverman considers himself a conservative. Yet organizers of the recent Conservative Political Action Conference, a massive gathering held yearly in the nation’s capital, did all they could to make him feel unwelcome. They even took away his presenter’s booth. It was not just that Silverman was an atheist. As president of American Atheists, a…
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Opinion Outrage over Nicholas Kristof’s op-ed on sexual assault of Palestinians is missing the point
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Opinion I discovered anti-Zionism at the University of Michigan. I’m glad it lives on there
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News They texted about Torah and mitzvahs. Feds say they were insider trading
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Opinion An alarming new battleground in campus fights over Israel
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Fast Forward Jewish Rep. Steve Cohen will not run for reelection after Tennessee GOP redraws his district