The American Council for Judaism, in a statement issued by its president Clarence L. Coleman, Jr., expressed regret today over the resignation of Rabbi Irving F. Reichert of San Franosco one of its founders and an honorary vice president, but reiterated its anti-Zionist stand.
Rabbi Reichert charged that the Council had become a pressure group trying to influence the State Department against Israel. In his statement, Mr. Coleman said that Rabbi Reichert’s resignation came suddenly and without prior consultation with any leading members of the Council. He added:
“Although we shall miss the association of Rabbi Reichert, the council will continue to conduct its educational program in the United States, through which it seeks to advance the increasing social, political, economic and cultural integration of American Jews.
“The council insist’s that Judaism is a religion of universal values, and not a nationality, and rejects the concept that Israel is the national homeland of all Jews and that American Jews, because of their religious identification, have or should have any political obligation to or responsibility for the State of Israel.
“This program, as Rabbi Reichert well knows, by no means ignores the natural legitimate interest of American Jews in the well-being and security of their co-religionists in Israel or elsewhere. An important phase of the council’s work is its philanthropic fund, which seeks means of aiding Jews and non-Jews in and out of Israel without subsidizing the propaganda campaign of Jewish nationalism or political Zionism.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
