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 Can Orthodox Buck Movement Toward More Liberal Branches of Jewish Faith?
Ron Rosenblatt’s parents grew up Orthodox. Ronsenblatt had his bar mitzvah in a Conservative synagogue. His children were raised as Reform Jews. Rosenblatt, 71, a dentist in Los Angeles, now attends a Reform synagogue a few miles from the Orthodox congregation where his parents were married. His trajectory is typical for an American Jew, the…
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News Conservative Jews Shrug Off Evidence of Dramatic Decline in Landmark Pew Study
Conservative Jewish leaders brushed off evidence that their denomination is dramatically shrinking that appeared in the new Pew survey of Jewish America. Denominational officials said that the data, which showed that just 11% of young Jews identify with Conservative Judaism, confirmed what the movement already knows about the problems its facing. Some said that the…
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Opinion To Reach Diaspora, Make Israel Welcoming to All Jews
I am always delighted by the Sukkot tradition of ushpizin. We invite guests, ceremonially and literally, into our homes to celebrate the spirit of Jewish hospitality — a central theme of this festival. This year, I challenge Israel and world Jewry to ask themselves a question: How big is our people’s sukkah? This question came…
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News Welcoming Intermarried Couples Is New Priority for Jewish Institutions
When the nation’s largest Jewish federation convened its first-ever conference recently on engaging interfaith families, perhaps the most notable thing about it was the utter lack of controversy that greeted the event. There was a time when the stereotypical Jewish approach to intermarriage was to shun the offender and sit shiva. A generation ago, the…
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Breaking News Schechter Schools Get $2M Avi Chai Grant
The AVI CHAI Foundation awarded nearly $2 million to support the Conservative movement’s Solomon Schechter network of Jewish day schools. Two grants, for the Solomon Schecter School Network and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, include some $1.7 million in funding from AVI CHAI and a challenge grant from an anonymous foundation, according to a…
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News Conservative Umbrella Group Lays Off 12 Staffers as Fiscal Woes Bite
The Conservative movement’s umbrella group, the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, has laid off a total of 12 full-time and part-time employees, the Forward has learned. Rabbi Steven Wernick, CEO of the USCJ, said the reductions, about 10% of the staff, would save the organization about $1 million annually — about the size of its…
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Breaking News Conservative Group Sticks to Balanced Budget Claim Despite Bulging Deficit
Despite a budget deficit twice what was expected, the leader of the Conservative movement’s synagogue umbrella group says the group will balance its budget within two years. Rabbi Steven Wernick, the CEO of the United Synagogue for Conservative Judaism, told JTA that his organization was anticipating a budget hole of more than $1 million in…
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Breaking News Sweden Hosts First Jewish Gay Wedding
The Great Synagogue of Stockholm hosted Sweden’s first Jewish gay wedding. The couple, two men who had been living together for the past 28 years, was wed at the synagogue on Sunday at a ceremony conducted by Rabbi David Lazar and attended by some 50 people. “They only invited close friends because it was their…
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