Reconstructionists to ordain rabbis with non-Jewish partners
Judaism's Reconstructionist movement has decided to ordain rabbis with non-Jewish partners.
The announcement Wednesday by the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College in suburban Philadelphia comes after years of debate.
Faculty voted last week to revoke a ban on admitting or graduating students with a non-Jewish partner. The college graduates eight to 10 rabbis per year.
College President Deborah Waxman says the move ultimately will help promote and preserve the faith. She says the old policy forced out students who would have made "wonderful rabbis."
About 60 percent of Jews who married between 2000 and 2013 had a non-Jewish spouse, according to the Pew Research Center.
