Patrilineal Descent in Determination of Jewish Identity

  Katherine Pia Glickler Introduction The matter of Jewish identity has been a central concern for the Jewish people ever since God made a covenant with the descendants of Abraham. Throughout the generations, the question of who is a Jew has always required a definitive answer. For nearly two millennia, rabbinic law has dictated that Jewish identity is determined by matrilineal descent alone. In the face of unprecedented levels of intermarriage, in 1983 the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) broke with this dictum and issued a resolution making the American Reform Movement th