As my dear, sweet, departed mother would have said: 'oy vay, its a
shonda(shame) for the neighbors!'
Stephen
 

Conservative Jews to Consider Ending a Ban on Same-Sex Unions and Gay Rabbis
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March 6, 2006
By LAURIE GOODSTEIN

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.

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.

Since then, Conservative Jewish leaders say, they have watched as relatives,
congregation members and even fellow rabbis publicly revealed their
homosexuality. Students at the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York City,
the movement's flagship, began wearing buttons saying "Ordination Regardless
of Orientation." Rabbis performed same-sex commitment ceremonies despite the
ban.

more....... http://www.nytimes.com/2006/03/06/na...d6Je11roHQUU9w