A leading Orthodox rabbi has warned that Jews in this country and in Israel are endangered by actions of such “activists” as those who interrupted President Carter’s address to the World Jewish Congress in Washington earlier this month and that all acts by impetuous Jews embarrassing Carter can only elicit a backlash from the extreme right.
This warning was sounded by Rabbi Simcha Elberg, chairman of the Administrative Committee of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis of the United States and Canada (Agudath Horabonim) during his address at the recent conference of the organization in Chicago where the topic, “Conduct of Jews Towards President Carter,” was a major agenda item.
Elberg stated that “regardless of how deep the differences of opinion may be between America and Israel, and no matter how much we must demand from America that it change its hard position towards Israel, we must not forget that we Jews in America, despite our freedom, live in a country which is not dominated by Jews.”
Any insult to Carter, he continued, “plants the seeds of Nazism in America and not only jeopardizes the Jews in Israel but also the Jews in America.” After a lengthy debate, it was resolved to condemn and warn of the danger inherent in the “wild actions” of “activists.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
