Editing Conservative Judaism (section)

==Organization and demographics==
The term ''Conservative Judaism'' was used, still generically and not yet as a specific label, already in the 1887 dedication speech of the [[Jewish Theological Seminary of America]] by Rabbi [[Alexander Kohut]]. By 1901, the JTS alumni formed the [[Rabbinical Assembly]], of which all ordained Conservative clergy worldwide are members. As of 2010, there were 1648 rabbis in the RA. In 1913, the United Synagogue of America, renamed the [[United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism]] in 1991, was founded as a congregational arm of the RA. The movement established the World Council of Conservative Synagogues in 1957. Offshoots outside North America mostly adopted the Hebrew name "Masorti" ("traditional"), as did the Israeli Masorti Movement, founded in 1979, and the British Assembly of Masorti Synagogues, formed in 1985. The World Council eventually changed its primary designation to "[[Masorti Olami]]." Besides the RA, the international [[Cantors Assembly]] supplies prayer leaders for congregations worldwide.

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, covering the United States, Canada and Mexico,<ref name="USCJ_About_Us">{{cite web |title=About USCJ |url=https://uscj.org/about#where |publisher=United Synagogue Conservative of Judaism |access-date=30 April 2019}}</ref> is by far the largest constituent of Masorti Olami. While most congregations defining themselves as "Conservative" are affiliated with the USCJ, some are independent. While accurate information of Canada is scant, it is estimated that some third of religiously affiliated Canadian Jews are Conservative.<ref>Arnold Dashefsky, Ira Sheskin, ''American Jewish Year, Book 2012'', Springer Science & Business Media, 2012. p. 75.</ref> In 2008, the more traditional Canadian Council of Conservative Synagogues seceded from the parent organization. It numbered seven communities as of 2014. According to the [[Pew Research Center]] survey in 2013, 18 per cent of Jews in the United States and in 2020 13 per cent <ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2021/06/22/denominational-switching-among-u-s-jews-reform-judaism-has-gained-conservative-judaism-has-lost/ | title=Denominational switching among U.S. Jews: Reform Judaism has gained, Conservative Judaism has lost }}</ref> identified with the movement, making it the second largest in the country. [[Steven M. Cohen]] calculated that as of 2013, 962,000 U.S. Jewish adults considered themselves Conservative: 570,000 were registered congregants and further 392,000 were not members in a synagogue but identified. In addition, Cohen assumed in 2006 that 57,000 unconverted non-Jewish spouses were also registered (12 per cent of member households had one at the time): 40 per cent of members intermarry. Conservatives are also the most aged group: among those aged under 30 only 11 per cent identified as such, and there are three people over 55 for every single one aged between 35 and 44. As of November 2015, the USCJ had 580 member congregations (a sharp decline from 630 two years prior), 19 in Canada and the remainder in the United States.<ref>Steven M. Cohen, ''[http://www.jta.org/2015/11/10/news-opinion/united-states/op-ed-for-conservative-jews-smaller-numbers-but-steady-engagement Conservative Jewry’s numbers plummeting, but core engagement steady]'', JTA, 10 November 2015; Uriel Heilman, ''[http://forward.com/news/325183/ Conservative Judaism Seeks To Rebrand Itself—But as What?]'', Jewish Daily Forward, 20 November 2015; Steven M. Cohen, ''[http://synagoguestudies.org/files/S3KReportFall2006_MembersAndMotives.pdf Members and Motives: Who Joins American Jewish Congregations and Why] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151222093658/http://synagoguestudies.org/files/S3KReportFall2006_MembersAndMotives.pdf |date=December 22, 2015 }}'', S3K Report, Fall 2006</ref> In 2011 the USCJ initiated a plan to reinvigorate the movement.<ref>[http://www.algemeiner.com/2016/01/15/conservative-judaisms-rebranding-effort-could-signal-a-sea-change/ Conservative Judaism’s Rebranding Effort Could Signal a Sea Change] The Algemeiner, January 15, 2016</ref>

Beyond North America, the movement has little presence—in 2011, Rela Mintz Geffen appraised there were only 100,000 members outside the U.S. (and the former figure including Canada).<ref>[[Judith R. Baskin]] ed., ''The Cambridge Dictionary of Judaism and Jewish Culture'', Cambridge University Press, 2011. p. 355.</ref> "Masorti AmLat", the MO branch in [[Latin America]], is the largest with 35 communities in [[Argentina]], seven in [[Brazil]], six in [[Chile]] and anfurther eleven in the other countries. The British Assembly of Masorti Synagogues has thirteen communities and estimates its membership at over 4000. More than twenty communities are spread across Europe, with three in Australia and two in Africa. The Masorti Movement in Israel incorporates about seventy communities and prayer groups with several thousand members. In addition, while Hungarian [[Neolog Judaism]], with a few thousand adherents and forty partially active synagogues, is not officially affiliated with Masorti Olami, Conservative Judaism regards it as a fraternal, "non-Orthodox but halakhic" movement.<ref>Elazar, Geffen. ''The Conservative Movement in Judaism''. pp. 133, 174.</ref>

[[File:American Jewish University, Bel Air, California.JPG|thumb|300px|right|[[Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies]] at [[American Jewish University]]]]

In New York, the JTS serves as the movement's original seminary and legacy institution, along with the [[Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies]] at the [[American Jewish University]] in Los Angeles; ''[[Seminario Rabínico Latinoamericano]]'' in [[Buenos Aires]], Argentina; and the [[Schechter Institute of Jewish Studies]] in [[Jerusalem]]. A Conservative institution that does not grant rabbinic ordination but which runs along the lines of a traditional [[yeshiva]] is the [[Conservative Yeshiva]], located in [[Jerusalem]]. The Neolog [[Budapest University of Jewish Studies]] also maintains connections with Conservative Judaism.

The current chancellor of the JTS is [[Shuly Rubin Schwartz]], in office since 2020. She is the first woman elected to this position in the history of JTS. The current dean of the Ziegler School of Rabbinic Studies is [[Bradley Shavit Artson]]. The [[Committee on Jewish Law and Standards]] is chaired by Rabbi [[Elliot N. Dorff]], serving since 2007. The [[Rabbinical Assembly]] is headed by President Rabbi Debra Newman Kamin, as of 2019, and managed by chief executive officer, Rabbi [[Jacob Blumenthal]]. Rabbi Blumenthal holds the joint position as CEO of the [[United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism]]. The current USCJ President is Ned Gladstein. In South America, Rabbi [[Ariel Stofenmacher]] serves as chancellor in the Seminary and Rabbi [[Marcelo Rittner]] as president of Masorti AmLat. In Britain, the Masorti Assembly is chaired by Senior Rabbi [[Jonathan Wittenberg]]. The Masorti movement's executive director in Israel is [[Yizhar Hess]] and chair Sophie Fellman Rafalovitz.

The global youth movement is known as NOAM, an acronym for No'ar Masorti; its North American organization is called [[United Synagogue Youth]]. [[Marom Israel]] is the Masorti movement's organization for students and young adults, providing activities based on religious pluralism and Jewish content. The Women's League for Conservative Judaism is also active in North America.

The USCJ maintains the [[Schechter Day School Network]], comprising 76 [[day school]]s in 17 American states and 2 Canadian provinces serving Jewish children.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://schechternetwork.org/about-the-network/|title=About the Network|access-date=March 5, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150222062633/http://schechternetwork.org/about-the-network/|archive-date=February 22, 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> Many other "community day schools" that are not affiliated with Schechter take a generally Conservative approach, but unlike these, generally have "no barriers to enrollment based on the faith of the parents or on religious practices in the home".<ref name="forward.com">Jennifer Siegel, [http://www.forward.com/articles/13533 Will Conservative Day Schools Survive?], June 5, 2008</ref> During the first decade of the 21st century, several schools that were part of the Schechter network transformed into non-affiliated community day schools.<ref name="forward.com"/> The USCJ also maintains the [[Camp Ramah]] system, where children and adolescents spend summers in an observant environment.<ref>Michael Greenbaum, "Ramah: Paradigm for Conservative Jews", ''Ramah at 60'', National Ramah Commission, pp. 53–55.</ref><ref>Nancy Scheff, "Romance at Ramah", ''Ramah at 60'', National Ramah Commission, p. 174.</ref>