A conference will be held in Israel September 6-7 entitled, “Creating in God’s Image: Ethical Challenges in Stem Cell Research and In Vitro Fertilization.”

The event will feature leading Jewish scientists and rabbinic leaders discussing the ethical implications of medical research using human stem cells and the Jewish position on new developments in IVF treatment.

Yeshiva University’s Center for the Jewish Future will co-sponsor the event with Columbia University’s Center for Bioethics, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, and Bar-Ilan University, which is hosting the conference.

Rabbi Kenneth Brander, dean of the newly established Center for the Jewish Future, said rabbinical leaders and medical professionals at Yeshiva University are working to clarify the moral and legal boundaries to their research according to Jewish teachings as fast as scientists push back the frontiers of biological research.”

Howard Weisband, Yeshiva University senior advisor on Israel affairs, said the university "has always taken the lead in bringing major contemporary issues to the forefront of the global Jewish community, and both scientists and rabbinical leaders from YU will utilize this conference as an opportunity to explore the implications of these topical medical issues, offering applications of the ethical principles based upon Jewish tradition.”