The Rabbinical Council of America will hold a special “Torah Convention” in Jerusalem, beginning July 28, to be attended by 500 rabbis and lay leaders, it was announced today by Rabbi Walter S. Wurzburger, president of the organization which represents nearly 1000 Orthodox rabbis in the United States and Canada.
Wurzburger said the main purpose of the convention was “to assure our brethren in Israel that we stand beside them wholeheartedly and will continue to do so.” He said the demonstration of solidarity was “particularly important” in what are “trying days” for Israel.
Wurzburger said another purpose of the convention was “to combat insidious assimilation, intermarriage and other trends which serve to inhibit the spiritual growth of Jewish communities.” He said “Our purpose for meeting in Jerusalem at this time is to proclaim to the world that the city of Jerusalem is indivisible, that it is the spiritual center of world Jewry.”
Rabbi Bernard Rosenzweig, first vice-president of the Rabbinical Council, said the convention would discuss vital and controversial issues such as “religion and politics” and would “grapple with such complex questions as the relationship of the State to the Jewish faith and whether a separation of the two would enhance or be harmful to the best interests of the State.” A related issue, he said, was the desirability of religious political parties and whether or not they are helpful in furthering religious values and observance.
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