By Josh Francis

According to the Los Angeles Times, an international rabbinical council may reconsider its bans on gay rabbis and same-sex commitment ceremonies, sparking unease among some in the Jewish community. Ordaining gay clergy has been an ongoing debate in Christianity for some time, and now it seems the big dilemma is facing Conservative Judaism, a movement which includes both traditionalist and liberal strains.

Reporter Larry Gordon neglects the most important element of the story: the Jewish community itself. His report in the Times contains a fair assessment of both arguments, but he completely misses incorporating the opinions of gay clergy and area congregations.

Leaders in the Conservative movement are saying they still would accept gay seminary students and tolerate having gay rabbis. But students from both the Ziegler School of Rabbinical Studies in Los Angeles and the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York appear nowhere in the story. One possible source for student voices might have been Rabbi Elliot Dorff, the rector and former rabbinical school dean at the University of Judaism in Los Angeles, who said he knew students living under a “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy. And while the Times reports that Canadian synagogues might leave the Conservative movement if the bans are lifted, Conservative congregants remain silent throughout the piece.

Understanding the true perspective on gay issues according to Jewish Law also requires more investigation. Halachah, consisting of Torah and rabbinical laws, is clear on gay issues. In Leviticus, for example, we find the verse, “Do not lie with a man as one would lie with a woman; it is an abomination.” But why do liberal and less-traditional Jews approve of ordaining gay clergy? The reporter has missed an opportunity in failing to assess the reasons why certain movements have decided to violate traditional laws and practices that have constituted the religion for almost six millennia. With that kind of background, he might then have described how they plan to reach a compromise.

Josh Francis is a student at the University of Southern California.