Both major rabbinical associations in Toronto — the Orthodox Va’ad Harabonim and the Toronto Board of Rabbis, which represents the Conservative and Reform movements — agreed with the decision late last month to bar Jacobs’ body from the cemetery.
Born to Jewish parents, Jacobs had been ordained a Christian minister. He devoted much time and energy to proselytizing and converting Jews to Christianity.
He was a dean of the Jewish studies program at the Canada Christian College, a secretary of the Messianic Jewish Alliance of Canada, and a former secretary of the Toronto branch of the Hebrew-Christian Alliance of America.
“It’s regrettable that this incident occurred. As far as we’re concerned, Dr. Jacobs was a Christian and should have sought burial in a Christian cemetery,” said Keith Landy, chairman of the Ontario region of the Canadian Jewish Congress and spokesman for the two rabbinical associations.