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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News Rabbis Shift To Say ‘I Do’ to Intermarriage
When Rabbi Daniel Zemel started his career, back in the past century, the last thing he thought he’d ever do was perform intermarriages. But as the years passed, Zemel, who leads Temple Micah, a Reform congregation in Washington, found that maintaining his strict rule on this issue became ever more difficult. “It got harder and…
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Fast Forward British Lawmaker’s Nazi-Themed Bachelor Party ‘Not Anti-Semitic’
A British lawmaker who arranged a Nazi-themed bachelor party in France was not racist or anti-Semitic, his political party determined following an internal investigation. The internal investigation of Aiden Burley by the Tory Party was released on Tuesday, according to British media reports. Burley was dismissed in December 2011 as parliamentary private secretary for Transport…
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Life My Jewish Wedding Felt Like an Intermarriage
I was supposed to be a low-maintenance bride. I am usually “the easygoing one.” Our florist would disagree. As I stood in front of his 20 foot refrigerator and pointed to every type of flower, telling him which to put in our arrangements, and which should, under no circumstances , even come near our venue,…
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Opinion Conservative and Reform Rabbis Deserve Same Recognition as Avi Weiss and Orthodox
(JTA) — The good news is in: Rabbi Avi Weiss’ conversions will be accepted in Israel. I am glad to see that the religious integrity and leadership of Rabbi Weiss has been acknowledged. Undoubtedly, this course correction on the part of the Israeli Chief Rabbinate is due in part to the hue and cry of…
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Fast Forward Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper Is One of Israel’s Strongest Backers — But Why?
(JTA) — It took seven years, but one of Israel’s staunchest allies among world leaders will be making his maiden voyage to the Jewish state on Sunday. In announcing the trip last month at a Jewish National Fund dinner, where he was being honored, Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper called Israel “a light of freedom…
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Opinion Intermarriage Rorschach Test
Is intermarriage good for the Jews? This is not a trick question. It’s the new Rorschach test in determining how you think about the Jewish future. If you believe, as does the leadership of the Reform movement, that intermarriage is a fact of modern life, an inevitability in an open society where Jews are —…
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News Conservative Rabbis Set To Debate Opening the Door to Intermarrieds
A top Conservative movement official thinks that Conservative rabbis should be allowed to participate in interfaith weddings. Now explicitly barred by the movement, the proposal — put forward by Rabbi Charles Simon of the Federation of Jewish Men’s Clubs — is one of a handful of new efforts by Conservative rabbis to loosen restrictions on…
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News Solomon Schechter Schools May Open Doors to Non-Jews
(JTA) — Synagogues aren’t the only institutions in the Conservative movement changing their policies to become more welcoming to non-Jews and interfaith families. The movement’s school network, Solomon Schechter, is too. Last week, the organization’s board voted to set up a task force to reconsider its admissions policies, which limit enrollment to Jews or non-Jews…
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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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News They texted about Torah and mitzvahs. Feds say they were insider trading
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Opinion I run The Jewish Theological Seminary. Here’s the real story about President Isaac Herzog speaking at our commencement
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News Middlebury College Hillel votes to rebrand, distancing from parent group on Israel
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