And you thought a Jew is a Jew is a Jew. Maybe, but even if so, a synagogue is still not a synagogue.

Following the terrible shooting of many Jewish people inside a synagogue in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, the story was published and the act was condemned by every sane person worldwide. It was also condemned by the chief rabbis of Israel (you do know there are two of them, right?) – But they didn’t bother to mention it happened in a synagogue.

Why? Because according to Orthodox Judaism (which is politically enforced in Israel) – a place of prayer for Conservative Jews is not considered to be a synagogue.

Mr. Naftali Bennett, the Minister of Education in Israel, who is also the Minister of Diaspora Affairs, arrived at Pittsburgh and spoke words of comfort. In this difficult hour, one could almost forget about the ways in which the State of Israel largely ignores non-Orthodox Judaism, and recognizes neither the rituals nor the religious verdicts.