Reform Judaism Leader Raps Orthodox Opposition to Women’s Rights Amendment

A leader of American Reform Judaism said today that statements by Orthodox rabbis that a women’s equal rights law threatens the future of Orthodox Judaism are “self destructive and anachronistic” and “turning back to the Middle Ages.” Rabbi Balfour Brickner, director of the Commission on Interfaith Activities of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations said “Rather than seeing this as a threat to Judaism we encourage this emergence as a strengthening of the Jewish community and Jewish religious life.”

He said that the Reform synagogue had always insisted that the woman be fully “accepted and accorded complete equality with men in all aspects and functions of the congregation and the community.” He rejected the assertions by the Orthodox groups that the proposed Constitutional amendment on equal rights would threaten the morality of the country. In a statement yesterday the Orthodox groups suggested that if such a proposed Constitutional amendment were adopted women would legally try to challenge the existing Orthodox law in synagogues.

Rabbi Brickner expressed belief that “once the government insures equal rights to women through a proposed Constitutional amendment, Jewish women would have the right to and should be expected to, challenge even Orthodox Judaism for their proper place in that branch of the Jewish religious community.”

The UAHC, Rabbi Brickner said, has a special commission developing on-going programs to assure greater feminine representation and participation of women leaders in its regional and national activities. He also noted that in the UAHC’s 700-member synagogue in the US and Canada, women have served as presidents, on congregational boards, are cantors, and in June the first woman rabbi will be ordained and “there will be others.”