c. 1996 Religion News Service
Jewish group urges Israel not to amend conversion law
(RNS) The Council of Jewish Federations, the umbrella agency for local Jewish community federations across the United States and Canada, has urged Israel not to”risk dividing”the world Jewish community by approving a law that would invalidate non-Orthodox conversions to Judaism.
A resolution overwhelmingly approved Wednesday (Nov. 13) by some 600 council delegates meeting in Seattle urged Israeli political leaders”not to underestimate the strength of feeling on this matter”among non-Orthodox Jews, who constitute the vast majority of the 6.1 million Jews in the United States and Canada.
The resolution warned of the law’s potentially”detrimental effect on Jewish unity and Israeli-diaspora relations.” The resolution is in response to threats by Israel’s Orthodox political parties to introduce legislation that would invalidate conversions to Judaism performed by Reform or Conservative Jewish rabbis. Non-Orthodox leaders have warned that the law could be used to prevent individuals who have had Reform or Conservative conversions from settling in Israel under that nation’s Law of Return.
The Law of Return grants automatic Israeli citizenship to all Jews, including anyone who has converted to Judaism. Israel’s Orthodox establishment, which controls Jewish religious life in Israel, has long sought to amend the Law of Return to only recognize Orthodox conversions.
The latest attempt to amend the law began after Israel’s High Court of Justice said any conversion to Judaism _ Orthodox or otherwise _ done outside of Israel is a valid conversion.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is at the center of the controversy over the law because of his ruling coalition’s dependence on Orthodox political support. Last week, Netanyahu told American Jewish leaders that he would not support the threatened Orthodox legislation after reportedly telling his Orthodox coalition partners earlier that he would.
Non-Orthodox Jewish leaders have warned Netanyahu of a backlash against Israel if he backs the proposed law that could include reduced political and economic support for Israel from non-Orthodox Jews around the world.”There is a lot of passion aroused over this issue,”said Jo Ann Abraham, a Council of Jewish Federations spokeswoman.”The delegates regard maintaining the Law of Return as it is as central to Jewish unity.” Netanyahu was scheduled to address the Council of Jewish Federations meeting, but decided at the last minute to remain in Israel because of tense negotiations with the Palestinians over the Israeli withdrawal from Hebron. A satellite address by Netanyahu was scheduled instead.
A bomb scare Wednesday night forced the delegates and some 2,400 other Jewish leaders at the four-day meeting to vacate the Seattle convention center. No bomb was found.
Some 189 local Jewish federations in the United States and Canada are part of the Council of Jewish Federations. Jewish federations raise about $1 billion annually for a myriad of Jewish social service and community relations efforts.
Religious, humanitarian officials support U.S. role in helping refugees
(RNS) Religious and humanitarian leaders have hailed the Clinton Administration’s decision to assist hungry Rwandan refugees in Zaire.
A U.S. military team landed in Rwanda Thursday (Nov. 14) to assess security needs as plans take shape for a multinational force to be dispatched to the region.”The need for humanitarian intervention is clear,”said three officials of the National Conference of Catholic Bishops in a letter dated Nov. 13 to U.S. Secretary of State Warren Christopher. The letter was signed by Catholic Archbishop Theodore E. McCarrick of Newark, N.J., Bishop John S. Cummins of Oakland, Calif., and Auxiliary Bishop John H. Ricard of Baltimore.
Speaking on behalf of U.S. Catholic bishops who are meeting in Washington this week, the three leaders recalled the massacre of hundreds of thousands in Rwanda in 1994, the result of an ethnic conflict that led militant Hutus to slaughter Tutsis and moderate Hutus.”Many of those victims might have been saved had the international community acted swiftly enough to stop the slaughter,”the bishops wrote.”We could not stand by and watch once again as another tragedy unfolded. This would have been morally unacceptable.” World Vision president Robert A. Seiple also said the quicker action was more appropriate than the inaction of the United States when Rwanda erupted in violence in 1994.”By deploying American troops, President Clinton is using the full armor of the last remaining superpower _ not the armor of war, but the armor of compassion,”said Seiple, whose evangelical relief agency is based in Federal Way, Wash.”We need to join other nations’ troops in creating corridors for the safe passage of refugees and displaced people, and facilitating the shipment and distribution of desperately needed relief supplies to the people of Central Africa,”he said.
InterAction President Julia Taft said a multinational force is needed to prevent catastrophic loss of life.”A robust security force involving forces from Europe, Canada, the United States and Africa not only offers relief agencies their best hope of saving lives, but it also demonstrates that the United States remains engaged with other nations in addressing this major international crisis,”Taft said.
InterAction is a coalition of 150 U.S. non-profit groups that advocate for international humanitarian efforts.
NCC considers church access for deaf
(RNS) The National Council of Churches is considering a policy statement on improving the deaf’s access to churches.”No Barriers for Deaf People in Churches,”a report of the ecumenical organization’s National Ministries Unit, was introduced at the NCC’s General Assembly in Chicago Thursday (Nov. 14). It will be distributed to member denominations before further action is taken next year.”Truly, as the church grows in understanding of the human and divine call to inclusivity, the deaf community in our midst has stood as a silent minority on the margins of our awareness, our allocation of resources, our evangelical outreach and mission priority,”the report said.
The report recommends that churches begin dialogues with three different groups with hearing difficulties _ the deaf who often communicate by using American Sign Language (ASL), the deaf or hard of hearing whose first language is English, and the hard of hearing who use spoken language and have some technical assistance, such as hearing aids.
For the deaf using ASL, the report recommends separate interdenominational deaf worship services, the use of the Bible translated into ASL, and unique forms of worship, such as prayer with open eyes and drama. For the deaf and hard of hearing who use sign language, the report suggests interpreted services and front-row seats that allow easy viewing of interpreters and speakers. For the hard of hearing who use spoken English, the report recommends improved amplification systems and the provision of written copies of sermons prior to worship.
The report estimates that less than 10 percent of the deaf community is involved in churches.”All persons who have a hearing loss typically face major frustrations and barriers in church settings,”the report states.”In North America, that means that over 27 million people find church doors partially or completely closed to them.”
Quote of the Day: author David Rieff
(RNS) David Rieff, author of”Slaughterhouse: Bosnia and the Failure of the West,”wrote on the op-ed page of The New York Times Thursday (Nov. 14) about the moral and political risks of humanitarian intervention:”From the civil wars in Somalia and Bosnia to the current crisis in Zaire, it has been the international aid agencies who have most strongly and consistently called for military intervention in humanitarian disasters. Only through a combination of military muscle and logistical support, they insist, can we hope to rescue starving people like the more than 1 million Rwandan Hutu refugees now cut off from aid in eastern Zaire.”In the short term, this argument usually makes practical sense. Lives are saved when soldiers protect relief workers. The problem is that in their increasing zeal to advocate a military response, the humanitarian advocates have in effect become the last interventionists of the post-cold war world, a position fraught with political and moral risks that Westerners ignore at our own peril. To intervene out of humanitarian concern without any idea of what comes next often does as much to worsen the situation in the long run as it does to alleviate things in the short term.”
MJP END RNS
