RNS Morning Report - She was shunned for renouncing Zionism. A decade later, a rabbinical college is honoring her.

An unexpected reversal A pair of honorary degrees being offered this year by two notable Jewish schools offers a window into the breakdown of the American Jewish consensus over Israel. The Reconstructionist Rabbinical College will honor Hasia R. Diner at their commencement next week. Diner, a leading historian of the American Jewish experience, has been persona non grata in most institutional Jewish spheres for a decade, after she published an oped renouncing Zionism. Two days later, the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York, the flagship seminary for Conservative rabbis, plans to give Israeli President Isaac Herzog an honorary degree. Some students were furious with the choice, writing a letter to the chancellor to complain. Before 2023, the choice of Herzog might have been routine — while the choice of Diner would have shocked mainstream Jewish institutions. “I really was floored when they offered it to me,” Diner told RNS of the honorary doctorate. “I don’t think that would have happened five years ago.” But, as RNS’s Yonat Shimron reports, Jewish Americans, especially younger Jews, are increasingly divided over support for Israel and for Zionism. Read Shimron’s full report below.    Top Stories She was shunned for renouncing Zionism. A decade later, a rabbinical college is honoring her. (RNS) — Hasia R. Diner’s honorary doctorate from the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College is another sign of the breakdown of the American Jewish consensus over Israel. Georgian Orthodox Church elects new leader at fraught time for the influential institution (RNS) — ‘It’s really the textbook example of a national church being the cornerstone of national identity,’ Samuel Noble, a scholar of Orthodox Christianity at Belgium’s University of Liège, told RNS. Photos of the Week: Georgian patriarch, Shiite pilgrims (RNS) — This week’s photo selection includes a new Georgian Orthodox patriarch, Shiite pilgrims and more. Iran responds to US ceasefire proposal but Trump rejects it as ‘unacceptable’ DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Washington’s latest proposal addressed a deal to end the war, reopen the strait and roll back Iran’s nuclear program. Opinion Synod study group calls for greater role for laity in the selection of bishops (RNS) — The study group’s recommendations are practical and easy to implement. They could be quickly adopted in the United States. Abraham Foxman was a warrior against hate. His work is hardly complete. (RNS) — Abe Foxman made the world a little less hateful. We need him now more than ever. ICYMI Spiritually burned out? Tish Harrison Warren and some ancient monks have advice. (RNS) — Dealing with a sense of burnout and the weariness of modern life, author Tish Harrison Warren found help in the words of long-dead Christian mystics. Catholic diocese fights Trump administration plan to seize pilgrimage site for border wall (RNS) — The land targeted by the federal government is at the base of Mount Cristo Rey, a mountain and pilgrimage site topped by a 29-foot-tall limestone statue of Jesus Christ. Support Our Work As a nonprofit newsroom that covers all faiths, RNS sits uniquely at the intersection of freedom of the press and freedom of religion. News tips or feedback? Email comments@religionnews.com. Like the Morning Report? Share it with a friend. Forwarded this newsletter? Subscribe here. We rely on reader donations to power our reporting. Donate here. Or send a check to: Religion News Foundation PO Box 1808 Columbia, MO 65205

Copyright © 2026 Religion News Service, All rights reserved.