The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV) expressed its consternation and disappointment with the decision of Jewish Theological Seminary (JTS), the flagship institution of the Conservative movement, to join an amicus brief “to support the right of transgender students to use public restrooms that conform with their self-declared genders.” The Rabbinic Board of CJV termed this decision “further evidence of the departure of the Conservative movement from its Jewish moorings.”
In a statement late last week, JTS argued that expecting people to limit themselves to restrooms serving their own biological gender would “undermine the Jewish principle of human dignity (kevod haberiyot) as it relates to our LGBTQ students, teachers, family members, neighbors, and all those targeted in the larger community.”
The Rabbinic Board of the Coalition for Jewish Values dismissed the JTS position as contradicting both Torah and common sense, calling it a distortion of authentic Jewish values. Jewish principles expressly forbid catering to the few while endangering the safety of the many.
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In a previous statement, CJV noted that “permitting males, in particular, unrestricted access to private areas reserved for females is contrary to basic standards of modesty and decency, and an open invitation for otherwise illicit and perverse acts. For millions of women and girls across the country, the Obama regulations were bound to cause tremendous discomfort, embarrassment and anxiety, knowing that at any moment a biological male could enter a very private facility reserved for females.”
Rabbi Avrohom Gordimer, Senior Rabbinic Fellow with the CJV, commented that “It is sad and ironic that the Conservative movement, whose name suggests adherence to Jewish tradition, has once again spurned basic Jewish precepts. By attempting to follow the latest trends, the movement instead brings about its own rapid decline. We urge our brothers and sisters who affiliate with this movement to return it to its roots in classical Judaism.”
The Coalition for Jewish Values (CJV), a national organization directed by prominent rabbinic leaders, articulates an authentic Jewish perspective on current events, and promotes Jewish values through writing and teaching derived from traditional Jewish thought.