Intermarried rabbinic students

In the meantime, Hebrew Union College, in the United States – the largest Progressive rabbinic academy in the world – is also reconsidering its entry rules, although not because of legislation.

The HUC has embarked on a lengthy consultation over whether it should continue to deny entry to intermarried students.

In a recent debate in the American journal Reform Judaism, one HUC student in favour of change, Daniel Kirzane, argued: “Outreach is no longer about ‘turning the tide of intermarriage’, as it was 35 years ago. Today it is about embracing both Jewish and non-Jewish members of Jewish families, affirming their positive contributions to our congregations and religious schools.

“I am a child of one of these families, as are many of my classmates. My parents modeled how to build a Jewish family with non-Jewish members, and I have followed their example by building a home committed to the Jewish values of activism, spirituality, and prayer. But had I chosen to build this home with a non-Jewish partner, I would not have been allowed even to apply to be a rabbinical student.”

But, putting the opposing view, fellow student Brandon Bernstein said that leaders had “a covenantal responsibility to God, Torah, and Israel that extends beyond the self. I do not think it is unreasonable to ask a future Jewish exemplar to choose a Jewish spouse or partner for the sake of this covenant.”