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In a sign of growing tension between some Orthodox Jewish groups and non-Orthodox Jews, the chancellor of the Jewish Theological Seminary called Wednesday for "dismantling" Israel's chief rabbinate and ending donations to groups that oppose the recognition of non-Orthodox movements in Israel.
In a letter mailed to Conservative rabbis and major Jewish organizations, Rabbi Ismar Schorsch also warned that a recent declaration by a small group of Orthodox rabbis could create a climate conducive to violence among the Jewish people.
Schorsch referred to a March 31 declaration by the Union of Orthodox Rabbis, which said the Reform and Conservative movements were "not Judaism" and urged Jews to avoid the movements' synagogues. The union's statement drew widespread opposition, including criticism from the Rabbinical Council of America, the nation's largest Orthodox rabbinical group.
Schorsch's letter, sent to 1,500 members of...