A sharp rebuke against the “misuse of Jewish tradition” in the debate over the nuclear freeze issue was released by Agudath Israel of America in a policy statement adopted by its national officers recently. The national Orthodox Jewish coalition movement, commenting on the position taken by many Jewish organizations, stated that it is “an oversimplification of Jewish tradition to interpret reverence for life as an argument for a nuclear freeze.”
The Agudath Israel statement pointed out that although it believes that “no stone should be left unturned in an effort to put a halt to the frightening nuclear arms race and to achieve genuine peace,” nevertheless, while “peace is a religious imperative, so is a strong national defense.”
A spokesman for Agudath Israel explained that many Jewish organizations who adopted positions in favor of a nuclear feeeze accused the Reagan Administration of supporting a nuclear arms buildup which is detrimental to peace without giving credence to the belief that peace can also be secured through strength and deterrence.
He said that the Administration’s arguments that bilateral negotiations were not possible unless the defenses of the United States were bolstered were plausible and that it was to be assumed that the government was speaking out of factual knowledge of the current military balance of the superpowers.
The Agudath Israel statement added: “A complex decision of this kind must be left in the expert hands of those to whom we entrust the reins of government who are thoroughly familiar with all the intricate facts.”
The spokesman for the Orthodox organization said that while many Jewish groups were convinced that the road to peace could only be achieved through a nuclear freeze, there was reason to believe that no negotiations with the Soviets could hope to be successful at a time when America’s nuclear arsenal is found wanting.
He added: “To the extent that the quest for peace was the only proper basis for introducing Jewish tradition into the debate for a nuclear freeze, the argument was one-sided and out of context. Who is to say whether more nuclear arms or disarmament is the ultimate vehicle to peace?”
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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.
