An investigation into sexual abuse and misconduct in the Conservative movement’s youth group programs over the past seven decades identified an “overly sexualized culture” and collected accounts of alleged abuse from 40 victims. 

Most of the allegations included in the investigation took place between 1987 and 2019 in the New York City area, and the alleged perpetrators are no longer affiliated with the youth group, according to the report. 

The investigation commissioned by the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the movement’s umbrella organization...

When Rabbi Irwin Kula attended the Jewish Theological Seminary Rabbinical School 40-plus years ago, his studies emphasized a text-based, academic approach. And when he was ordained in 1982, most of his class of approximately 40 rabbinical graduates—all white and male—took pulpit jobs.

In spring 2023, JTS plans to ordain 12 rabbis and three cantors—a diverse group of graduates in terms of gender, age, and sexual orientation, as well as Jewish and professional journeys, but far smaller than Kula’s class....

An Israeli government effort to weaken the country’s judiciary, which critics call a threat to the nation’s democratic foundations, is drawing unusually pointed protest from American Jewish leaders and organizations, including ones that generally avoid commenting on internal Israeli politics.

The alarm within the United States reflects growing concern among prominent Jewish political and religious figures — not just about the substance of the proposal, but also about its potential impact on U.S.-Israel relations at a time when polls have shown that Israel is losing support...

Rabbi Sharon Brous began a sermon at her Los Angeles synagogue last month with a content warning. “I have to say some things today that I know will upset some of you,” she began. 

That same morning, across the country in New York City, Rabbi Angela Buchdahl was confessing something to her congregants, too: The sermon they were about to hear “kept me up at night.”

Both women — among the most prominent and influential Jewish clergy in the United States — went on to sharply criticize Israel’s new right-wing government, which includes far-right parties that aim to...

When members of First Presbyterian Church decided to launch a capital campaign to expand and renovate their imposing Gothic Revival edifice, they also wanted to take on a service project to help the poor.

The congregation settled on raising $50,000 to eliminate medical debt for people living below the poverty line.

Helping ease medical debt, especially for people of color, is an increasingly popular social justice project among liberal Christian, Jewish and Muslim congregations. Over the past few years some 800 U.S. congregations have partnered with ...

Two leading Jewish civil rights organizations are part of a coalition of groups asking the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold protections for religious observance in the workplace in a case that has already drawn support from Orthodox Jews.

The Anti-Defamation League and the American Jewish Committee each joined separate amicus briefs this week in Groff v. DeJoy, on behalf of an evangelical Christian postal worker whose case requesting to get Sundays off is under consideration by the court.

...

Douglass Williams is known for MIDA, the lauded Italian restaurants located in the South End and now in Newtonville. In January, he was nominated as a semi-finalist in the Best Chef: Northeast category for the prestigious James Beard Awards. (Finalists will be announced in March.) In 2022, he was a James Beard outstanding chef semi-finalist; in 2020, he was named one of Food &...

Top leaders in the Maryland General Assembly are expressing support for changing the state’s 2024 primary date, which is now scheduled to take place during a Jewish holiday.

House Speaker Adrienne Jones and Senate President Bill Ferguson noted Monday in a joint statement that the date unintentionally coincides with Passover, which would prevent thousands of residents from voting.

Maryland’s primary, which is set by law, is now set for April 23.

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It's a somewhat familiar story: A group of religious leaders last month filed an abortion-related lawsuit. They argued their religious freedoms were being violated.

But, instead of challenging abortion rights, they wanted to see an abortion ban overturned. The leaders are seeking to reverse Missouri's abortion ban, arguing lawmakers imposed their religious beliefs on others through passing it.

“We want this not just to be a lawsuit but also a public awareness campaign to show people they can be religious and also in support of abortion rights,” said the Rev. Cindy...

For years, Kiryas Joel, a bustling village north of New York City, has run one of the most unusual public school districts in America.

The village is almost entirely populated by Hasidic Jews, and the district was created to serve just one group: Hasidic children with disabilities. Most other children attend the community’s private religious schools, which stress the rigorous study of Jewish law and prayer but offer little instruction in secular subjects.

Created a little over 30 years ago, the unique public school system immediately drew concerns that a school...

Authorities in Virginia have created a "first of its kind" Antisemitic Task Force dedicated to monitoring and combating antisemitic actions across the state.

Attorney General Jason Miyares announced the Task Force on Wednesday, during Virginia Jewish Advocacy Day, alongside Governor Glenn Youngkin, Lieutenant Governor Winsome Earle-Sears and local members of the Jewish community, according to WAVY.

"Antisemitism is the oldest and most sustained form of bigotry known to...

Amid an alarming rise in antisemitism in the US and increasing push back from some conservative groups, experts are urging the implementation of Holocaust education among young people at American public schools.

Multiple states in recent years have enacted laws mandating Holocaust education across their...

Shortly before Israel’s new right-wing government was sworn in late December, Rabbi Jeremy Kalmanofsky of New York’s Ansche Chesed Synagogue penned a blog post on the congregation’s website.

“This government is beyond awful,” ...

Two House Democrats sent a letter to Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) on Thursday calling on him to create a select committee to confront antisemitism.

Reps. Jared Moskowitz (D-Fla.) and Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) sent the letter just hours after House Republicans voted to ...

New York City education officials have stopped doing business with 20 companies that provide education services in private schools amid concerns about fraud in the industry.

In emails sent over the past few weeks, the city education department instructed employees to block the hiring of the companies to provide special education or child care services.

The move marks a sharp change in the city’s approach to education contracting, particularly in cases of parents of private school students with disabilities seeking city-funded services. While parents must go through...