News In Brief

Conservative Judaism to have women rabbis

After almost a decade of debate, the 1.5 million-member Conservative Judaism movement is ready to admit women as rabbis. The faculty of the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York voted 34 to 8 Monday to admit women as candidates for ordination to the rabbinate. The seminary is the only body in the United States authorized to ordain Conservative rabbis. Those who opposed the move feel it violates Jewish law. The Reform Judaism and smaller Reconstructionist movements have been ordaining women rabbis for 10 years.