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In a shift, Hebrew College will now admit and ordain rabbinical students whose partners are not Jewish
(JTA) — Hebrew College will begin admitting and ordaining rabbinical students in interfaith relationships, according to new admissions standards revealed on Tuesday.
The decision makes the pluralistic seminary outside of Boston the second major rabbinical school in the United States to do away with rules barring students from dating or marrying non-Jews. The Reconstructionist Rabbinical Seminary was the first to do so in 2015.
Hebrew College’s decision comes as rabbinical schools compete over a shrinking pool of applicants and after decades of rising rates of intermarriage among American Jews.
Rabbi Sharon Cohen Anisfeld, Hebrew College’s president, announced the policy change in an email to students and graduates on Tuesday evening. She said the decision, which followed a year and a half of review, came amid a broad revision of the seminary’s “guiding principles for admission and ordination.”
Those new guiding principles were published on the admissions page of Hebrew College’s website late Tuesday, replacing different language that had included the partner policy. “We do not admit or ordain rabbinical students with non-Jewish partners,” the page had previously said, adding that applicants whose partners were in the process of converting would be considered.
“This is a really exciting moment for Jewish communities everywhere,” said Jodi Bromberg, the CEO of 18Doors, a Jewish nonprofit that supports interfaith families. “We all will get to benefit from Jewish leaders in interfaith relationships who have been sidelined from major seminaries up to now.”
Hebrew College has set aside time on Wednesday for its roughly 80 rabbinical students and others to process their reactions about the change, which Anisfeld had previously said she expected to be intense no matter the decision. She declined to comment late Tuesday, saying that she was focused on communication with members of her community.
“This has not been a simple process and, in addition to the strong feelings raised by the policy itself, there have been complex feelings about various stages of the process we’ve undertaken over the past year,” Anisfeld wrote in a message to students in October, in a series of emails obtained by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
Hebrew College’s policy change reflects a longstanding and sometimes painful dynamic in American Jewish life: While nearly three-quarters of non-Orthodox Jews who married in the last decade did so to non-Jews, few traditional rabbinical schools have been willing to train or ordain rabbis in interfaith relationships. Their policies have roots in Jewish law, known as halacha, which prohibits marriages between Jews and non-Jews. But they also reflect anxiety among American Jewish leaders over whether high rates of intermarriage threaten the future of Judaism, and whether rabbis must model traditional practices in their families.
At Hebrew College, which launched its rabbinical school 20 years ago, the prohibition against interfaith relationships had been the only admissions requirement rooted in Jewish law beyond the rule that applicants must be considered Jewish according to at least one Jewish movement. There was no requirement that rabbinical students keep kosher or observe Shabbat.
When the school’s leadership first solicited feedback from students a year ago, several took aim at what they said was hypocrisy in the approach to Jewish law.
“This is the one area of students’ halachic life where I am acutely aware that the school does not trust us, does not think we are capable of navigating our own personal lives, and does not believe that the choices we may make for ourselves have the capacity to expand and enrich our Jewish practice,” wrote one student, according to a collection of anonymous comments shared among students at the time.
A chuppah at a Jewish wedding. More than 60% of American Jews who have married in the last decade have done so to non-Jewish partners, according to a 2021 study from the Pew Research Center. That proportion rises to nearly 75% for non-Orthodox American Jews. (Scott Rocher via Flickr Commons)
Most of the 15 comments that students and graduates shared with their peers called for doing away with the ban on interfaith student relationships, often citing the benefits of having Hebrew College-ordained rabbis reflect the families they are likely to serve.
“We should be training rabbis for the Jewish community that exists and that we want to cultivate, not the one we wish existed or that existed in the past,” one student wrote. “Having intermarried rabbis could do a lot of good: perhaps having role models for a fulfilling, active, intermarried Jewish can help people feel welcomed, not just grudgingly tolerated after the fact — and can increase the likelihood that those intermarried couples want to raise Jewish children.”
Several students and graduates wrote that the policy as it stood incentivized students to obscure their relationships, denying them dignity and preventing their mentors and teachers from fully supporting them. Several suggested that prohibiting students in interfaith partnerships could have a disproportionate effect on queer Jews and Jews of color.
At least one person argued against changing the policy, instead suggesting that the school strengthen enforcement and clarify expectations about other Jewish practices and values.
“By changing the policy Hebrew College is sending the message to the Jewish world that love-based marriages are more sacred than the covenant with which we made at Sinai,” that student wrote, referring to the moment in Jewish tradition when God first spoke to the Israelites. “However, by not changing the policy Hebrew College is affirming that students learn the art of lying. Therefore, my suggestion is to keep the policy but change the ethics on how it is enforced.”
Those comments followed a two-day workshop, facilitated by experts in conflict resolution, about the policy a year ago. The experience was challenging for many of those in attendance, according to the student comments.
“The pain of the need to hide was on full display during Winter Seminar, and I found myself wondering if I could remain in a community whose first response was anything other than to seek healing for the hurt that the policy has inflicted,” one wrote at the time.
With tensions high, an initial deadline to decide whether to keep the policy came and went last June. In late October, Anisfeld wrote to students with an update. A special committee including both rabbinic and academic faculty members had been meeting regularly since July, she said, and would be presenting their recommendation by the end of January.
Last week, she said in her message to students and graduates on Tuesday, Hebrew College’s board approved the policy change and admissions principles revisions.
The decision could renew pressure on other rabbinical schools amid steep competition for students. Several non-traditional rabbinical schools that do not have a requirement about the identities of students’ spouses have grown in recent years, while Hebrew College; the Reform movement’s Hebrew Union College; and the Jewish Theological Seminary and the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies in the Conservative movement all shrunk. Hebrew College recently completed a move to a shared campus after selling its building under financial duress.
“We continue to hear from folks who want to be rabbis and up until this moment had really limited choices,” said Bromberg. “I can’t help but think that this will have a really positive impact on the enrollment in Hebrew College’s rabbinic program.”
The pressure could be especially acute for Hebrew Union College, the Reform seminary with three campuses in the United States. (Because of declining enrollment, the school is phasing out its Cincinnati program.) HUC does not admit or ordain students in interfaith relationships, even though the Reform movement, which does not consider halacha to be binding, permits its rabbis to officiate at intermarriages and to be intermarried themselves.
That policy, which the movement reaffirmed after extensive debate in 2014, has drawn resentment and scorn from some who say it is the only thing holding them back from pursuing Reform ordination.
“All my life, my community had told me that no matter who you are or who you love, you are equal in our community and according to the Divine. But now it feels like I’ve been betrayed, lied to, misled,” Ezra Samuels, an aspiring rabbinical student in a queer relationship with a non-Jewish man, wrote on Hey Alma in 2020, expanding on a viral Twitter thread.
But even the Conservative movement, which bars rabbis from officiating at intermarriages and only recently began permitting members of its rabbinical association to attend intermarriages, is grappling openly with how to balance Jewish law and tradition against the reality around interfaith relationships.
The movement recently held a series of online meetings for members of its Rabbinical Assembly to discuss intermarriage, sparking rumors that the movement could be headed toward policy changes. That’s not the case, according to movement leaders — though they say other shifts may be needed.
“There are no proposals at present to change our standard,” said Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, the CEO of the RA and United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the movement’s congregational arm. “But there is a conversation about what are the ways that we can provide more pastoral guidance to colleagues, especially around moments of marriage.”
The Pew study found new high rates of intermarriage in the Jewish community. (iStock/Getty Images)
Keren McGinity, the USCJ’s interfaith specialist, previously directed the Interfaith Families Engagement Program, a now-defunct part of Hebrew College’s education school. She declined to comment on the internal conversations underway within the Conservative movement. But in 2015, she argued in an op-ed that the Jewish world would benefit from more rabbis who were intermarried.
“Seeing rabbis — who have committed their careers, indeed their lives to Judaism — intermarry, create Jewish homes and raise Jewish children should convincingly illustrate how intermarriage does not inhibit Jewish involvement,” she wrote, citing her research on intermarried couples.
That argument got a boost two years ago, when a major survey of American Jews found that most children of intermarried couples were being raised Jewish. And on Tuesday, McGinity said she was glad to hear that Hebrew College was dropping its partner requirement, which she said she knew had caused students to leave the program in the past.
“The decision to admit rabbinical students who have beloveds of other faith backgrounds is a tremendous way of leading in the 21st century, illustrating that interpartnered Jews can be exemplars of Jewish leaders,” she said.
She added, “Knowing my colleagues, I can only imagine the hours and hours of thought that went into this decision.”
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The post In a shift, Hebrew College will now admit and ordain rabbinical students whose partners are not Jewish appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
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Mamdani’s first statement on antisemitism as mayor-elect got some weird pushback
The morning after Zohran Mamdani won New York’s mayoral election, someone spraypainted swastikas on a Syrian Jewish yeshiva’s windows and walls.
“This is a disgusting and heartbreaking act of antisemitism, and it has no place in our beautiful city,” Mamdani wrote on X that morning. “As Mayor, I will always stand steadfast with our Jewish neighbors to root the scourge of antisemitism out of our city.”
It seemed like a perfect moment for Mamdani, whose campaign was dogged by assertions that he would be soft on antisemitism to reassure the city’s Jewish population that he will have their back — perhaps too perfect.
But immediately after Mamdani made that statement, conspirac y theories began to swirl around the graffiti alleging that it was a “false flag” — an incident that is not, in fact, carried out by the apparently responsible party. In this case, the conspiracy theory implied that the swastikas were painted by pro-Israel supporters trying to prove that Mamdani will encourage violence against Jews.
“Don’t fall for it until you find out who did it. They’re famous for these false flags,” argued one viral reply. “Anything to keep the victim spotlight on them to keep Israel’s stranglehold on the West.”
Others criticized Mamdani’s statement — for overemphasizing the gravity of the incident, and being too friendly to Jews. Some posted that Mamdani had already betrayed his voters. Others urged him to focus instead on Islamophobia.
“There’s no ‘scourge of antisemitism’ in NYC. Acts like these, while reprehensible, are often weaponized to justify Zionist narratives and repression of Palestine solidarity,” wrote Nerdeen Kiswani, the founder of pro-Palestinian activist group Within Our Lifetime. “Mamdani shouldn’t be validating this framing.”
Many people also lauded Mamdani’s statement as reassuring and necessary. But the immediate uproar over what seemed to be a very basic condemnation of Nazi imagery — a condemnation that did not name or blame any particular group for the act, whether pro-Palestinian activists, neo-Nazis or false flag attackers — encapsulates the tricky position the new mayor-elect occupies, particularly when addressing antisemitism.
Part of Mamdani’s new constituency is desperately nervous that he won’t hear them or protect them; the other is worried he will overcompensate by emphasizing Jewish concerns over their own. And judging by the conspiratorial tenor to the response, some feel emboldened to lean into their own antisemitism, even when he is speaking out against it.
But Mamdani’s statement did not rank antisemitism above — or below — other priorities. The controversy around his words calls to mind a famous post from the old days of Twitter, which is still regularly passed around in meme form. It calls the site “the only place where well-articulated sentences get misinterpreted. You can say ‘I like pancakes’ and someone will say ‘So you hate waffles?’”
The post Mamdani’s first statement on antisemitism as mayor-elect got some weird pushback appeared first on The Forward.
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On the trail of a priceless dove, a group of Palestinians and Israelis find that peace is for the birds
When Yaki, a struggling Israeli musician, learns his late father’s beloved dove is worth tens of thousands of dollars, he knows he’s found the key to supporting his fledgling career. There’s just one problem: Yaki has given the dove away.
Bella, co-directed by Israeli filmmakers Jamal Khalaily and Zohar Shachar, chronicles the tumultuous road trip Yaki embarks on to retrieve the prized bird, with the assistance of his girlfriend Limor, and a Palestinian couple, Bilal and Najris. Although the conflict over the ownership of the dove occasionally feels like a heavy-handed metaphor for the struggle for peace in the region, the story balances funny and heartfelt moments.
It’s virtually impossible for a film about Israel to avoid mentioning Israeli-Palestinian relations, but at first, the tensions are only acknowledged in offhand ways. A representative of the Israeli Pigeon Fanciers’ Administration casually tells Yaki that Bilal can’t have the bird because “Arabs eat them.” But as the group encounters military checkpoints and ethnic profiling along their journey, the disparities in Israeli society become impossible to ignore.
The film refutes a popular misconception of Israeli-Palestinian relations that has not been addressed much in other media: that the dynamics can be understood as operating exactly the same as white-Black racism in America.
A narrative common among the American left is that Israeli society is white and Palestinians are brown, therefore the system of oppression can be approached using the same analytical and political tools of racial justice movements in America. But it would not be appropriate to categorize Israelis and Palestinians into the American racial framework, as both of these ethnic groups are incredibly racially diverse. There also aren’t definite phenotypical distinctions between the two groups. When Limor tells the Israeli soldiers guarding a checkpoint that Bilal and Najris are Israeli, they don’t argue with her.
The film exposes the fact that the prejudices have less to do with appearance or actions, and more with the assumptions made about specific ethnic groups.
At one point, the group has to travel to Area A of the West Bank for a wedding. A sign warns that it is illegal and dangerous for Israelis to be there, but Bilal tells the Palestinian Authority guards that Yaki and Limor are from Brussels. He brings them to the wedding where they are greeted warmly. The wedding singer even includes them in his song praising the various guests.
But when Bilal’s son Omar accidentally exposes their true identities, the mood sours, despite the fact that Yaki and Limor haven’t acted in any way that would warrant criticism. Bilal and Najris rush the couple out of the wedding for their safety, as Bilal’s brother in law berates him for “bringing Jews to the wedding.”
From what the film shows, peace among Israeli and Palestinians should seemingly be easy. Without the labels and preconceived notions, these two groups of people would be able to enjoy life together. But reality is never that simple and peace, like the dove, seems way out of reach.
Bella is having its United States debut at the Other Israel Film Festival at the Marlene Meyerson JCC on Thursday, November 13.
The post On the trail of a priceless dove, a group of Palestinians and Israelis find that peace is for the birds appeared first on The Forward.
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Eleven Arrested Amid Heavy UK Police Presence at Soccer Match Between Maccabi Tel Aviv and Aston Villa
Soccer Football – UEFA Europa League – Aston Villa v Maccabi Tel Aviv – Villa Park, Birmingham, Britain – Nov. 6, 2025, Aston Villa’s Ian Maatsen scores their first goal. Photo: Action Images via Reuters
British police said 11 men were arrested during protests outside Maccabi Tel Aviv’s UEFA Europa League game on Thursday night against Aston Villa in the United Kingdom, a match in which the Israeli team lost and also had its fans banned from attending.
West Midlands Police said a 63-year-old man was arrested for a racially aggravated public order offense after he was heard shouting a racist remark during a road rage incident near Villa Park, the arena where the match was taking place. A 21-year-old man was arrested for failing to comply with an order to remove a face mask, and a 17-year-old boy was arrested for failing to comply with a dispersal order.
Three other people were arrested on suspicion of racially aggravated public order offenses, including a 34-year-old and 29-year-old who both shouted abuse toward pro-Israel demonstrators. The latter was also arrested for possession of an illegal drug, and a 67-year-old was arrested for shouting racist abuse at a police officer.
A 32-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of a racially aggravated public order offense after shouting racist abuse toward a pro-Palestinian group. Meanwhile, a 21-year-old man was arrested after trying to throw fireworks on the ground, and another was arrested on suspicion of possession with intent to supply drugs.
West Midlands Police maintained a “high-visibility police presence” around Villa Park throughout the night, the police department said. Roughly 700 officers were dispatched to keep order outside the arena amid planned protests by pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli groups. There were also police horses, police dogs, a drone unit, roads policing unit, and protest liaison officers.
“This has definitely been one of the most contentious and controversial matches we’ve hosted for some time, but our priority, really clearly, is public safety,” said Birmingham Police Commander and Chief Superintendent Tom Joyce. “It’s about protecting the communities that live in and around Aston Villa, and reassuring those communities who are potentially affected by the match tonight.”
Aston Villa beat Maccabi Tel Aviv 2-0 in the league phase match taking place at Villa Park, which located in the city of Birmingham in central England. At the end of the match, lines of police officers made sure soccer fans leaving the stadium were separated from the anti-Israel protesters who remained outside the area and there were no confrontations, according to The Independent. Police officers also pushed back protestors outside Villa Park during the game.
Before the start of the game, hundreds attended a protest outside of Villa Park, organized by the group Palestine Solidarity Campaign, to demand Israel be excluded from all international soccer competitions. Attendees held signs with anti-Israel messages and Palestinian flags, and chanted “Free, free Palestine.” A smaller counter-protest took place in solidarity with the Israeli club and its fans, who had been banned from attending the game.
Maccabi Tel Aviv fan and Arab-Christian activist Yoseph Haddad traveled from Israel to express support for Maccabi Tel Aviv at the venue and protest the ban against the club’s supporters.
“You have a problem with us and not the fact that people cannot come to Britain and watch a football game because you have extremists here who don’t want certain people to be here? You should check yourself,” he said in a video shared on X. “We’re not in Nazi Germany. This is not the 1940s. And I promise you we will not be silent. We will be here, and show the truth of the Israeli society, and we will scream it and shout it as loud as possible. Stop the hate.”
I’m here in Birmingham outside Aston Villa’s stadium standing proudly.
Because we have nothing to be ashamed of and no reason to be afraid – it’s the terror supporters who need to hide, not us! pic.twitter.com/lzs3C6fW8l— יוסף חדאד – Yoseph Haddad (@YosephHaddad) November 6, 2025
The ban against Maccabi Tel Aviv fans was imposed by Birmingham’s Safety Advisory Group and police, which deemed the match as “high risk” and said the ban was necessary “to mitigate risks to public safety.” Government officials in Israel and the UK, including British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, condemned the decision. The UK government said it was taking steps to try to reverse the move, but Maccabi Tel Aviv then announced it would decline to accept any allocated tickets for its fans due to its own safety concerns.
Joyce told Sky News that “significant levels of hooliganism” among Maccabi Tel Aviv fans is the reason they were banned from Thursday’s match.
“We are simply trying to make decisions based on community safety, driven by the intelligence that was available to us and our assessment of the risk that was coming from admitting traveling fans,” Joyce said ahead of the match. “I’m aware there’s a lot of commentary around the threat to the [Maccabi] fans being the reason for the decision. To be clear, that was not the primary driver. That was a consideration. We have intelligence and information that says that there is a section of Maccabi fans, not all Maccabi fans, but a section who engage in quite significant levels of hooliganism.”
Maccabi Tel Aviv’s Chief Executive Jack Angelide criticized the “blatant falsehoods” about the club’s supporters.
“We have not been given a clear reason,” he told Sky News. “I have seen people coming up with all sorts of stories about our fans, especially in Amsterdam, where there was, what the Amsterdam authorities themselves classified as “a Jew hunt,” being portrayed as organized fighters, soldiers, etc., etc. It’s just blatant falsehoods, and people who say those things know that they’re false and shame on them.”