Conservative Judaism leader seeks review of view of gays

The Associated Press, 1-4-03

Conservative Judaism may be about to reopen discussion of the denomination's ban on same-sex unions and ordaining homosexuals — a move critics say could fracture the centrist branch of U.S. Jewry.

Judy Yudof, lay president of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, wants the movement's lawmaking body to decide whether its condemnation of gay sex still holds under current interpretations of religious law. The Torah's prohibition against homosexual behavior is the reason Conservative Judaism bars gays from serving as rabbis and cantors.

Yudof plans to submit the question to the Committee on Jewish Law and Standards, a panel of 25 rabbis, within the next month. Yudof said she is not advocating a particular outcome, and she refused to discuss her views on the issue. She said she is simply seeking answers for Conservative Jews, who make up the second-largest branch of American Judaism, with just under a million Jews calling themselves as Conservative.

“I've just felt there is some concern out there — in the lay world at least — about the status of homosexuals within our movement,” said Yudof, whose organization represents about 800 North American congregations. “There are some people who feel uncomfortable about putting a restriction upon someone who admits to being a homosexual.”

The slightly larger and more liberal Reform movement ordains homosexuals and blesses same-sex couples, while the smaller and stricter Orthodox does not. The last time Conservative Jews reviewed the policy on gays was in 1992 in a fierce debate that ended in a compromise some dubbed “don't ask, don't tell.” The law making committee barred homosexuals from rabbinical schools but promised not investigate students' sexual orientation. At the same time, the panel urged congregations, youth groups, summer camps and schools to welcome gays.

Rabbi Joel Meyers, head of the Conservative movement's Rabbinical Assembly, is among those who believe the policy should stand. “People who are from within the gay community themselves are treated just fine," Meyers said. "There is no discrimination."

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