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
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Fast Forward Conservative movement apologizes for list of innovative rabbis that featured only men
(JTA) — The Conservative movement’s congregational umbrella group apologized for publishing an article about innovative rabbis that only included men. The article by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism in the February issue of its Journeys publication featured five rabbis who “meet people where they are.” Among other things, the rabbis organized events in cafes…
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Fast Forward Liberal Rabbis Join Trump’s High Holiday Call After 2-Year Absence
Rabbis from the Reform and Conservative Jewish movements will participate in the White House’s annual High Holidays conference call on Friday, a change in procedure after two years without participating. Rabbi Debra Newman Kamin, the president of the Rabbinical Assembly, the union of Conservative rabbis, told the Forward on Thursday that their board had taken…
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Fast Forward Jewish Theological Seminary Chancellor Arnold Eisen To Step Down
(JTA) — Jewish Theological Seminary Chancellor Arnold Eisen will leave his position at the end of the current academic year. Eisen, who has served for 12 years, will remain on the faculty of the Conservative movement’s seminary. He will continue to teach and research, according to a JTS statement issued Thursday. In the spring, Eisen…
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Opinion Think Israel Is A White Supremacy? Congratulations: Richard Spencer Taught You Well.
In recent years, we have seen two lines of argument used with increasing frequency to mainstream the delegitimization of Israel. The first is characterizing Israel as fundamentally racist because it is a Jewish state. The second is identifying right-wing support for Israel in the United States with nationalist, white supremacist views. Peter Beinart impressively managed…
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News A Thriving Synagogue Hired Its First Female Head Rabbi. Here’s Why That Matters.
Most job interviews are little more than sitting in a windowless room, answering questions from a manager with your resume in one hand and coffee in the other. For rabbis aiming for the pulpit, they’re a little different. This past winter, Temple Israel Center, a large Conservative synagogue in Westchester County, New York, had four…
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Fast Forward Conservative Rabbinical Group Appoints Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal As Its New Head
(JTA) — The Conservative movement’s Rabbinical Assembly appointed Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal as its new chief executive. Blumenthal, the spiritual leader at Shaare Torah in Gaithersburg, Maryland, will start in July, the organization announced Thursday. He succeeds Rabbi Julie Schonfeld, the first woman to serve as chief executive of a major rabbinical organization. She announced in March 2018 that…
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Fast Forward Reform, Conservative Movements Ask Trump To Oppose Netanyahu Annexing West Bank
WASHINGTON (JTA) — Nine Jewish groups, including five associated with the Reform and Conservative movements, wrote to President Donald Trump asking him to preserve the two-state solution in the face of a pledge by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex West Bank territory. The letter is unusual, if not unprecedented, in mainstream Jewish groups…
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Fast Forward Jerusalem’s Orthodox Deputy Mayor Refuses To Speak At Conservative Jewish Venue
JERUSALEM (JTA) — A deputy mayor of Jerusalem refused to attend a real estate conference because it was held in a facility owned by the Conservative movement. Eliezer Rauchberger, who represents the haredi Orthodox Degel Hatorah party and holds the building and planning portfolio, had committed to being a keynote speaker Monday at the national…
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Fast Forward Why neo-Nazis marched in Ohio this weekend, and almost every weekend in the US
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Opinion The group behind Project 2025 has a plan to protect Jews. It will do the opposite.
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Opinion Just about every interpretation of Trump’s narrow election victory is wrong
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News Texas schools want to add Queen Esther to the curriculum. Here’s why Jews (and many Christians) are opposed.
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Fast Forward Rep. Ritchie Torres, outspoken pro-Israel advocate, is dropping hints that he could run for NY governor
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Fast Forward Ursula Haverbeck, infamous German Holocaust denier known as ‘Nazi grandma,’ dies at 96
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Fast Forward A Jewish museum in Tulsa held a funeral for remains of Holocaust victims it kept for years
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Sports Texas A&M’s Sam Salz cherishes his first taste of DI college football — and the opportunity to inspire fellow Orthodox Jews
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