The convention of the United Synagogue of America closed here today with the adoption of a resolution urging its 799 Conservative congregations “to remember that simplicity in funeral practices is the tradition of the Jewish faith and that the dignity of the dead and of the bereaved mourners dictates the elimination of ostentation.” It called upon all United Synagogue Congregations to “invest the ritual surrounding burial with the respect which only the simplicity inherent in our tradition can invoke.”
The convention also called upon United Synagogue regions to support rabbis declining invitations to officiate at Jewish ceremonies followed by non-kosher meals. The resolution urged on rabbis and congregations to assert the “primacy and priority” of the synagogues’ financial, social, cultural and representational needs on all levels of Jewish community life.
The 1,600 delegates also adopted a resolution opposing Sunday closing laws as an intrusion on religious freedom and welcomed legislation passed in some states exempting persons observing Saturday as their Sabbath. They commended President Kennedy for his “far-reaching proposals on immigration” urging the elimination of discrimination based on the quota system. They also urged the U.S. Government to ratify the Genocide Convention adopted by the United Nations in 1948. In another resolution the delegates urged Conservative Jews to participate in the “crucial nationwide campaign for full civil rights and equal opportunity for Negroes.”
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