Welcome to the Winter 2026-27 Edition of Pride and Prejudice!

This issue is dedicated to the concept of welcoming interfaith families into the greater Jewish Community, and specifically, into synagogue life.

Why are we talking about this? Because even though FJMC International had great success with its Keruv Initiative in starting the dialogue within our community about being welcoming to interfaith families, the work is not completed.  We see that couples and families are still marginalized and treated as different in many of our communities.  Even where the synagogue expresses publicly that they are  welcoming, they often fall short of providing the atmosphere that allows people to be comfortable.

We acknowledge that things have changed for the better since FJMC first got the welcoming to interfaith families ball rolling. After years of contrary thinking, in December, 2025, the USCJ, the Rabbinical Assembly and the Cantors Assembly jointly released their Intermarriage Working Group report. It apologized for the hurt caused by the movement’s earlier view that interfaith marriage threatened Jewish survival. The report’s own words: “We deeply apologize.” Rabbi Jacob Blumenthal, CEO of both USCJ and the RA, gave the reason plainly: disapproval didn’t discourage intermarriage, it just pushed away people who belonged in the community.

In May, 2026, the RA’s endogamy resolution reaffirms Jewish endogamy as a value, names conversion as the normative path for non-Jewish partners, affirms that those partners are created in God’s image and can play real roles in building Jewish homes, and calls for inspiration rather than shame or coercion. Some members objected that its framing read as undercutting the work rabbis do every day to welcome interfaith families.

In July 2026, The Conservative/Masorti Committee on Jewish Law and Standards of the Rabbinical Assembly issued “Gateways Into Jewish Living.” It lets synagogues hire a Jew with a non-Jewish spouse for any role other than clergy, and lets rabbis bless interfaith couples after the wedding and at other life-cycle events. It also keeps Jewish status matrilineal and limits clergy to officiating only when both partners are Jewish, though they may attend an interfaith wedding as guests.

In August 2026, Rabbi Bradley Shavit Artson, former Dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies and current AJU Goldstine Distinguished Scholar and Vice President of American Jewish University in Los Angeles, argued in the Jewish Journal that Conservative/Masorti clergy should officiate at interfaith weddings, and Rabbi David Golinkin, President Emeritus, The Schechter Institutes, Inc., published a rebuttal.

So, where does leave us and what does the future hold? It’s great to issue positions and papers, but putting those positions into action is quite another matter. Over the years, time and time again, we have seen that FJMC is the organization that turns a position in to action. We are structured in a way that allows people on the ground to take affirmative action. Many interfaith families have expressed frustration with the current state of welcoming to interfaith families by rabbis, synagogue leaders and most importantly and personally, the members of the Jewish community.

What form will that action by FJMC take? The slate is clean – we’re not bound by what was, but can fashion an action plan to make our Jewish Family more welcoming. That could include sensitizing rabbi and synagogue staff, giving those involved in interfaith families an outlet for their concerns, lobbying for further action on the part of movement leadership, AARON – PLEASE FILL-IN YOUR IDEAS

We’re looking for people who support this ideal to join us as we re-launch our initiative to include interfaith families as members of our greater Jewish Family. 

Please write to me at to let me know that you want to be a part of this very important endeavor.