This is the Forward’s coverage of Reform Judaism, a major liberal Jewish denomination.
Reform Judaism
The Latest
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Fast Forward Shas Minister Calls Reform Jews ‘Disaster’ for Israel
Israel’s religious services minister reportedly called Reform Jews “a disaster for the people of Israel.” David Azoulay of the Sephardic Orthodox Shas party made the comments during a meeting to discuss the Women of the Wall group, Israel Hayom daily newspaper reported Wednesday. The meeting reportedly took place on Tuesday between Azoulay and Justice Minister…
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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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Fast Forward Liberal Group Sweeps To Win in World Zionist Vote
The Reform movement won a plurality of votes for American representation in the 37th World Zionist Congress. Of the 145 seats allocated to Americans in the 500-representative body, approximately 70 percent went to religious denominations: Fifty-six seats went to the Reform movement’s ARZA faction, 25 went to the Conservative movement’s Mercaz faction and 24 to…
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Fast Forward Shanghai Reform Temple Gets First Torah Scroll
The newly-established Reform Jewish community of Shanghai, China, will receive its first Torah scroll from a sister congregation in Brazil. The donation of the scroll by ARI, Rio de Janeiro’s Progressive congregation, to the Kehilat Shanghai community was announced at a ceremony Wednesday in Rio de Janeiro, where 300 delegates are attending at the World…
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Fast Forward Rabbi Rick Jacobs Urges Benjamin Netanyahu To Protect Pluralism
The leader of the Reform Jewish movement urged Benjamin Netanyahu to preserve pluralism in a message congratulating the Israeli prime minister on forming a new government. “We hope that as this new government moves forward, it will take into consideration the values of inclusion and pluralism for all of Israel’s citizens – values that are…
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Fast Forward Reform Jews Want ‘Genocide’ Used for Armenian Killings
The Union for Reform Judaism urged President Barack Obama to use the word “genocide” in describing the murder of 1.5 million Armenians. Rabbi Rick Jacobs, the union’s president, made the call in an open letter he sent to Obama on Thursday, ahead of the centennial anniversary of what is widely known as the Armenian Genocide….
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Culture Reform Movement Sheds Publishing Arm
The Union for Reform Judaism is getting out of the publishing business. Reform Judaism’s governing body will hand over production of its printed materials — from bar-mitzvah training materials to school curricula to poetry and cookbooks — to Behrman House, the venerable New Jersey-based publisher of academic and Jewish books. A second partner, the Central…
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Culture Chilly Scenes of Cleveland Synagogues
● Congregation By Raphael Silver AuthorHouse, 412 pages, $23.95 Over the course of his 83 years, Raphael Silver was many things: real estate developer; film producer, director, writer and distributor; climber of Mount Kilimanjaro at age 73; indefatigable collector of objects; and finally, at the end of his life, author of a novel, “Congregation.” Silver…
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