A disagreement over funding for a rabbinical seminary is causing friction between Germany's orthodox Jewish community and the government.
Orthodox leaders have pressed the government — so far unsuccessfully — to give their facility the same funding it grants Germany's only other rabbinical seminary, which is liberal.
Rabbi Josh Spinner of the orthodox Rabbinical Seminary said Thursday the government should treat all religious denominations equally. He says the dispute raises questions about "what moral, historical and legal rights the German government has to choose its Jews."
The German Interior Ministry says it already supports the education of orthodox rabbis by providing an annual grant to a Jewish studies center in Heidelberg. But that school doesn't ordain rabbis.