“The real test which confronts American Jewry is whether Zionism can be incorporated into our world outlook as an essential element of our live. To this day, the average American Jew still relates to Israel as an object of philanthropy and as a refuge for homeless Jews, as if to say Israel is for others, not for us.”
That statement was mode by Rabbi Richard G, Hirsch, executive director of the World Union for Progressive Judaism, based in Jerusalem, and a leader of the Reform movement. He spoke today at the 90th annual national convention of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), attended by more than 500 Reform rabbis from throughout the United States and Canada. The convention ends tomorrow.
“Our task is to demonstrate the interdependent relationship between the Jewish State, the Jewish people and the individual Jew, “Hirsch said. He warned that the demographic pattern and socioeconomic conditions of Israel are such that the State will not remain Jewish unless the Jewish population “is bigger and better, and it will not be bigger unless it is better, nor better unless it is bigger.” He called for aliya by American Jews.
SUPPORT FOR ERA
The Reform rabbis yesterday gathered in front of the Arizona State Legislature and held a mass rally and ecumenical service in a strong message of religious support for the Equal. Rights Amendment (ERA). Following the service the rabbis visited the State Senators and Representatives.
In opening the service, Rabbi Irwin Blank of Brookline, Mass., chairman of the CCAR Justice and Peace Committee, said that the CCAR was “determined to give out support to our colleagues and congregants in this state who labor steadfastly to extend human rights and to enhance the life of the human family. We consider it sacrilegious to deprive human beings of their rights. It is our commitment to the passing of the Equal Rights Amendment which now joins us in prayer, “he said.
The service was read by Rabbi Sally Priesand, the nation’s first woman rabbi. Joining her was Sister Claire Dunn of Arizona, a Catholic nun who is a member of the State House of Representatives. Priesand recently resigned as associate rabbi of Stephen Wise Free Synagogue in New York and is seeking another rabbinical position.
Meanwhile, some attending the convention protested meeting in a state that has not ratified the ERA, and called upon delegates to boycott the convention. Six women Reform rabbis issued a letter to CCAR members expressing disappointment “that the conference has not chosen to manifest its stated support of ERA through the boycott of non-ratified states.” Continuing, the letter states:
“After much thought we have decided to participate in the convention, hoping that the conference will view this gathering as the first of many opportunities to address the difficult agenda raised by the changing role of women in Jewish life.”
The CCAR, at its convention last year, voted to break a contract it had made with Phoenix and shift to another city in a state that had ratified the ERA. But the issue was reopened later when CCAR officials polled members whether they would be willing to assume the cost of some $20,000 of withdrawing from the agreement. On the basis of the response, officials said they decided to abide by the contract.
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.
