Conservative Jews Mull Same-Sex Unions, Gay Rabbis

Posted on Mar 6, 2006

Jacqueline Bohnert / The New York Times

N.Y. Times:

In a closed-door meeting this week in an undisclosed site near Baltimore, a committee of Jewish legal experts who set policy for Conservative Judaism will consider whether to lift their movement’s ban on gay rabbis and same-sex unions.

Rabbi Elliot N. Dorff [pictured at right] has written a proposal that he says will “enable gays and lesbians to have a love life sanctioned by Jewish law.”

In 1992, this same group, the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, declared that Jewish law clearly prohibited commitment ceremonies for same-sex couples and the admission of openly gay people to rabbinical or cantorial schools. The vote was 19 to 3, with one abstention.

Full story

More Below the Ad

Are you a Truthdig member yet? Login now, or register with Truthdig.