Orthodox Youth Reject Parochialism; Would Apply Torah to Social Revolution

The National Conference of Synagogue Youth, America’s largest Orthodox youth movement, has rejected as ” contrary to Torah tradition, parochial strategies that declare that only certain issues are of ‘ Jewish’ concern. ” That was the burden of a resolution adopted at the NCSY convention and reported today to its parent body, the Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America. The movement represents 16,500 teen-agers in 35 states and six Canadian provinces. It called on all segments of the Jewish community “to join together in forging a meaningful social revolution guided by the principles of the Torah ethic, as the only viable alternative to the counter-culture.”

Norbert Baumann, a spokesman for the NCSY, told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today that the UOJC leadership fully supported the resolution. It stated in part, ” When we cry out for the migrant worker or the ghetto dweller we do so because he is a Divine creation shaped in the spirit of the Almighty, Whenever we speak out as Torah Jews, motivated and led by our Gedoiet Torah, our Torah authorities, we are helping the world we live in, ” According to Stan Frohlinger, president-elect of the Orthodox youth movement, ” The Jewish community must not be allowed to forget the problems of the outside world. Above and beyond the Torah imperative to get involved, we can best reach a generation of alienated Jewish youth with an authentic Torah message of social concern. ” In a resolution on Israel, the youth group confirmed its support for the security of the Jewish State but emphasized the needs of the Sephardic–Oriental–community in Israel. They called for increased financial support to solve the social and economic problems of the Sephardic community in Israel.