| Conservative Controversy |
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| Written by Roz Plotzker | |||||
| Tuesday, 26 April 2005 | |||||
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"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: This year, the Jewish Theological Seminary of America celebrated the twenty-year anniversary of the ordination of women rabbis in New York, NY, on March 29, 2005. Since the ordination of Amy Eilberg in 1985, women rabbis have been an integral stronghold of the Conservative movement as it progresses into the future. On the evening of Tuesday, March 29 at 6:30, JTS presented the Gerson D. Cohen Memorial Lecture, "A Movement Transformed: Women's Ordination and Conservative Judaism.” The event took place at JTS, 3080 Broadway (at 122nd Street) in New York City. JTS used this historic event to unveil its plan to achieve gender and sexual equity in all ranks of the Conservative movement, with a commitment to achieving full egalitarianism by the year 2010. The plan will include the following commitments: Based on the Conservative Movement's recent study of the gap in pay between men and women rabbis, it is clear that all rabbis deserve to be paid equally for the work they do in our communities, regardless of their gender. By 2010, we will fully eliminate the salary discrepancies between men and women rabbis. As a part of our ongoing support for pluralism and forward-thinking, the Conservative Movement will begin ordaining Gay and Lesbian rabbis by 2010. The Seminary eagerly awaits the outcome of the Committee on Jewish Laws and Standards' discussion next month on the place of gays and lesbians in our movement. In anticipation of the committee‘s decision, the Seminary commited to welcoming all students with open arms, regardless of sexual preference. Conservative synagogues and institutions will include and acknowledge women as full and equal participants in community and leadership. More than ten percent of conservative synagogues in the U.S. are not yet fully egalitarian. The Conservative Movement is committed to dignity and respect for all persons, and by 2010, all institutions affiliated with the Conservative Movement will be required to be fully egalitarian, counting people as ritual equals (ie: counting for a minyan, leading services and reading Torah,), regardless of gender. These commitments reflect Conservative Judaism’s historic connection to tradition and its ongoing response to and growth with the modern world. This plan does not present new ideas, but rather is a culmination of discussions over the last thirty years about reshaping the contours of Conservative Jewish communities and moving a vision of tradition, inclusion, and modernity into the future of the twenty first century." Believe what you’ve just read? You shouldn’t. This press release was sent out as a hoax by Jewish Women Watching, in preparation for the debate on the place of gays and lesbians in the Conservative movement, among the Committee on Jewish Laws and Standards. According to Eric Greenberg’s account of the affair in the Forward, dozens of copies of the press release were distributed at the JTS celebration of the 20th anniversary of the woman to become an ordained Rabbi. It fooled hundreds of people. Greenberg reported that JTS spokeswoman Sherry Kirschenbaum did not answer questions regarding the issues raised by the hoax. She instead referred them to director of communications Elise Dowell, who apparently also avoided reporters. Jewish Women Watching’s mission statement calls attention to combating sexism in the American Jewish community, and galvanizing the public to confront such discrimination. Their “biting satire” is the tool with which they do their work. They maintain an anonymous profile, using names that pay homage to Jewish females of the past – Clara Lemlich, the Garment district striker, and late Yiddish actress Molly Picon, to name a few. “Jewish Women Watching remains anonymous to focus attention on the issues - not ourselves,” explains their web site (for more information, see www.Jewishwomenwatching.org).
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