The Synagogue Council of America (SCA) has announced a three-point action program on May 14 to celebrate the 13th anniversary of the unification of Jerusalem that will emphasize to Americans of all faiths the central role of Jerusalem as the capital of Israel from the days of King David. Rabbi Arthur Lelyveld, president of the national coordinating agency for the Conservative, Orthodox and Reform rabbinic congregational organizations, said the May 14 program will initiate “A Year of Rededication to Jerusalem.”
Rabbi Bernard Mandelboum, executive vice president and director of research of the SCA, said the program will include a petition drive to obtain the signatures of one million Americans who will commit themselves to seeing Jerusalem as a “unified city, the capital of Israel, and who will ask President Jimmy Carter “to advance the cause of peace of Jerusalem.” The petition will be presented to Carter between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur.
The other two elements in the program will consist of publishing a booklet entitled, “Next Year in Jerusalem,” which will include statements from rabbinic literature on the pivotal role of the Holy City in the history and daily life of the Jewish people; and placing ads in leading dailies throughout the country on the central role of Jerusalem in the religious life of the Jewish people, which will be headlined,” Jerusalem of Peace, in One World, under God.”
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