Denver’s Rabbi Gerson is on Rabbinate ‘blacklist’

Bernard Gerson, spiritual leader of Denver’s Conservative Rodef Shalom, discovered on Facebook that his name appears on the Israeli Chief Rabbinate’s blacklist. “One of my Facebook friends shared the Times of Israel article about the blacklist with me,” he tells the IJN. “How did I react? I was shocked. On the rational level, there’s very little that surprises me anymore about news emanating from the Jewish ether,” he says. “But I never thought I’d be one of the rabbis” cited for providing incorrect confirmations of Jewish identity. An estimated 160 rabbis from 24 countries are on the list obtained by Itim, which assists immigrants challenged by Israel’s religious authority, during a court case. Sixty American rabbis — 33 Conservative, 16 Orthodox, 10 Reform and one […]