Conservative and Reform: Who is a Jew? Why isn’t Orthodoxy pluralistic?
Background: i – The Conservative and Reform movement have spread the lie that Orthodoxy does not consider Conservative and Reform Jews as Jews. This has been so broadly spread that most Conservative and Reform Jews I have recently met, believe this to be the case. It is vital to know that the “who is a Jew” issue, is an issue concerning non-Jews who wish to convert, and has nothing to do with those who are born Jews. ii – Having said that, there is a serious complication on the part of the Reform’s position of Patrilineal Descent. This means that the Reform Movement recognizes someone as being Jewish provided that any one of the parents are Jewish, even if that one parent is the Father.
