Conservative Jewish panel moves toward decision on ordaining gays

BALTIMORE (AP) — The only major branch of American Judaism still debating the role of gays in rabbinical schools and synagogues is preparing to take up the issue in a closed-door meeting that could change the direction of the movement. Experts in religious law for Conservative Jews planned to gather this week in a retreat center outside Baltimore, where they will reconsider their 1992 decision opposing both ordination for gays and commitment ceremonies for same-gender couples. The vote of the Committee on Jewish Law & Standards, if taken at this conference, will not be binding, nor will it resolve disagreements over homosexuality among Conservative Jews. But it will send a strong message to the wider community about how far the Conservative branch will go in reinterpreting traditional understanding of Jewish law. “It will be an important symbolic case for the Conservative movement,” said Jonathan Sarna, an expert on American Jewish history at Brandeis University.