Reform Jews throughout the western hemisphere were urged today by a Reform leader to impose a tithe on their earnings for rising building, personnel and education expenses of the Reform movement.
The proposal was made by Emil N. Baar, chairman of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, at one of the closing sessions of a four-day UAHC conference. He said this was necessary to meet particularly the needs of young people and older members. He suggested “a personal, self-imposed tithe along the lines of that followed by members of certain other religious groups.”
The specific problems for which more funds were needed were listed by Max L. Koeppel, realtor and chairman of the Development Fund for the UAHC. He told the conference yesterday that, since the end of World War II, the cost of property had risen by as much as 100 percent. He said these increases had created a threat to plans for the building of new synagogues, and to the expansion of present buildings.
Mr. Koeppel warned that dues paid by middle income groups “can just about sustain” existing congregations, leaving almost nothing for new buildings, religious schools, rabbis teachers and administrators.
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.
