JERUSALEM — After a Jerusalem-area’s religious council allowed a female Reform rabbi to participate in its proceedings, some advocates of liberal Judaism in the country are hailing their inroads into the Orthodox-dominated religious infrastructure....

Israeli President Shimon Peres praised the Masorti movement's contributions to Israel and condemned extremists in Israel. “I came here this evening to hear women singing,” Peres said Jan. 5 after a performance of the Masorti youth movement's coed...