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
-
Life Conservative Judaism’s Problem? It’s Too Conservative.
When the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism recently announced its rebranding, affirming Conservative Judaism as “dynamic and authentic,” it had the potential to be a turning point for the movement. Its earlier tagline, “tradition and change,” not only was uninspiring, but also failed to capture the very humanity of our people’s search for meaning and…
-
Breaking News Rabbis Puzzled By Conservative Movement’s ‘No-News’ Intermarriage Stance
NEW YORK (JTA) — “It doesn’t help.” “I don’t know how it happened or why it happened.” “The most common response I’m seeing is confusion.” That’s what some Conservative rabbis are saying about their movement’s recent major statement on intermarriage, which reasserts the ban on rabbis performing interfaith weddings while urging its member synagogues to…
-
Life Yeshiva University Democrats Find Their Voice — On Conservative Campus
Until Donald Trump’s election one year ago, less than eight students at Yeshiva University would attend the events organized by the school’s Democrats club. Little did they know that just a couple of months after November 8, the club would grow significantly, reaching its peak of 50 active members this year. Matthew Haller, 20, and…
-
Fast Forward Conservative Movement Won’t Budge From Intermarriage Ban
NEW YORK (JTA) — The Conservative movement will maintain its ban on interfaith marriages while seeking to welcome couples who are already intermarried, according to a new letter signed by the movement’s four leaders. The letter, published this week and addressed to the centrist movement’s clergy, educators and leaders, follows a summer when a few…
-
Fast Forward Netanyahu Says Non-Orthodox Jews Using Western Wall For Leverage
JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called out the Reform and Conservative movements in Israel for using their partnership in the Western Wall agreement as a clandestine way to gain recognition. Netanyahu told reporters in New York on Monday night that the Reform and Conservative movements wanted to get recognition “via the backdoor,…
-
Breaking News Orthodox, Unlike Defiant Liberal Groups, Will Join Trump’s Conference Call
A traditional greeting call before the High Holidays has become a point of contention for the Jewish community and a window into the Trump administration’s relations with the American Jewish establishment. The call, scheduled for Friday morning, was described by the White House in invitations sent out Wednesday to rabbis and Jewish leaders as a…
-
Life Yes, The Orthodox Are Exclusive – But That Doesn’t Mean You Should Be
A follow-up to an essay published last week, “Do Pluralistic Jewish Organizations Stop At The Orthodox?” A few months ago, I attended a lecture by an acclaimed academic, an Orthodox Jewish female leader. She recounted a story: Highly credentialed with degrees from Ivy League institutions, she was invited to be on a panel discussion at…
-
Fast Forward Berkeley Fears Speech By Ben ‘Godzilla’ Shapiro
Ben Shapiro is coming to U.C. Berkeley soon, and many on the left-wing campus are not pleased with the conservative pundit’s scheduled appearance – with protests slated and counseling services being offered to those who might be irritated by his presence. Shapiro, the pugilistic editor of The Daily Wire, has responded with characteristic humor, comparing…
Most Popular
- 1
Culture Why saying ‘L’shana Tova’ on Rosh Hashanah may not be the correct phrase
- 2
Culture A Jewish prophet of the 1980s would be horrified to see that we didn’t heed his warnings
- 3
Opinion With killing of Hezbollah’s chief, Israel occupies the inarguable moral high ground
- 4
Opinion This is the most disorienting Rosh Hashanah in memory
In Case You Missed It
-
Film & TV How Leonard Cohen — and a Yom Kippur prayer — inspired a coming-of-age epic
-
Opinion A year after Oct. 7, Israel has the chance to remake its future — for better or worse
-
Opinion Campus protests defined the year since Oct. 7. Could they actually change U.S. policy?
-
Special Report At the kibbutz hit hardest on Oct. 7, a wrenching debate over how to rebuild
-
Shop the Forward Store
100% of profits support our journalism