NEW YORK, NY March 26, 2007 —The flagship school of one of American Judaism’s largest movements says it will ordain gay rabbis. WNYC’s Fred Mogul has more.

The announcement from the Jewish Theological Seminary comes three months after the legal committee of Conservative Judaism re-interpreted the traditional legal code to admit the possibility of gay rabbis.

In a letter today, JTS Chancellor-elect Arnold Eisen said the school has surveyed academic and community leaders and found a majority supporting gay ordination. He wrote that while the movement considers itself bound by scripture and tradition, it must also weigh the realities of modern life and the moral consequences of not ordaining gays.

About a third of affiliated American Jews are members of the Conservative movement. The larger and more liberal Reform movement has allowed gay rabbis for almost 20 years. For WNYC, I’m Fred Mogul.