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THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE November 21, 1986 Page 15
Cardin appeals for pluralism in Jewish life
by Murray Zuckoff
CHICAGO (JTA)—A call for
pluralism in Jewish life in North
America, abroad and in Israel
was issued here last week by Sho-
shana Cardin, president of the
Council of Jewish Federations.
She was making her keynote ad
dress to more than 3,000 Jewish
leaders from the United States,
Canada and overseas attending
the 55th General Assembly of the
CJF.
The commitment to pluralism
“nurtures mutual respect among
specific ideological groupings and
seeks the pursuit of unity even in
the midst of serious differences,”
Cardin declared in her address
entitled “Klal Yisrael—Federa
tion’s Role in Building Commu
nity.”
“We believe that honest differ
ences can be a source of creativ
ity. We believe that the agenda
which unites us is far more pow
erful and significantly more com
pelling than the agenda which
divides us,” she said. Further
more, Cardin stated, “We are
committed to a civil, even if pas
sionate discourse. We are opposed
to shrill and strident discourse.”
The CJF leader emphasized
that “the Federation environment
must not be used to leverage spe
cific religious or ideological sup
port at the expense of other reli
gious persuasions and ideolo
gies... Respect for different ideo
logical, religious or political per
suasions—we accept. Demanding
that one ideology or persuasion
prevail to the exclusion of
others—we decry.”
Cardin’s address was a dra
matic reaffirmation that the CJF
is a collectivity of diversity in
unity and the unity of diverse
elements and views, all working
to “enhance the opportunities for
effective community building” and
making it “a shared responsibil
ity,” as she put it. All Jews, Car
din declared, “should be partici
patory Jews.” She noted that
“Judaism is not a spectator ide
ology.”
Her address was in many ways
markedly different in scope and
substance than those CJF' presi
dents have delivered in previous
General Assemblies. It was less
concrete in terms of organiza
tional guidelines, but more pow
erful in terms of a philosophical
guideline for “a vision of Klal
Yisrael at home, abroad and in
Israel.”
Without specifying, her urgent
appeal for pluralism in Jewish
life alluded to some of the dis
cordant and vexing religious, so
cial and economic issues extant
in Jewish life.
These ideas include: the ongo
ing conflict over who is a Jew; the
role of the Orthodox establish
ment in Israel; the nuclear wea
pons build-up by the U nited States
and Soviet Union; the Reagan
administration’s economic
and social policies affecting the
lower and middle income seg
ments of American society; the
Jewish community as a single or
multi-issues-oriented community,
and attitudes toward abortion,
the sanctuary movement, and the
kind of leadership the Jewish
community requires to assure its
vitality and viability.
Cardin also obliquely criticized
financially affluent movers and
shakers in the community who
seek to use their influence to try
to sway the Federation move
ment toward their views, as well
as the Reform movement, which
has indicated that it would have
to rethink its financial contribu
tions to Israel unless it was al
lowed a greater role in religious
affairs.
“CJF and Federations must
maintain an open forum where
all can participate, where all can
express themselves without feel
ing threatened and without
threatening others. We must be
extremely wary of tactics which
may be coercive or tactics which
may seek to threaten our ability
to respond to the needs of Klal
Yisrael by withholding money,”
she said.
“Money should not and can
not be used as an instrument for
the pursuit of specific ideological
or religious primacy in the pur
suit of power or to redress grie
vances...1 call upon ourco-workers
in all the ideological and political
movements of Jewish life to re
main fervent and passionately
committed to their ideologies—
to seek to persuade—to seek to
engage one another through cre
ative, civil and effective discourse.
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Shoshana Cardin
“I must, however, be candid. 1
fear that a significant segment of
our people can be alienated as a
result of the animosity and hos
tility that is being generated in
our communal framework. Some
may even choosea spectator role
because of this negativism.”
Cardin urged the assembled
leaders to “be prepared to take
risks and design new approaches—
test new ideas and experiment
with new modes in the art and
science of what the French call
‘engage’ in order to build a more
just, more open and more equit
able larger society.”
Cardin said the task of Federa
tions is to maintain an effective
and all-inclusive Jewish commu
nity by demonstrating “that our
doors are open to all who can
belong...to all who may wish to
participate but don’t know how.
“Jews in our continental com
munity, affiliated or unaffiliated,
detached or even alienated, must
begin to feel viscerally that the
communal enterprise—the Jew
ish Federation—wants them, is
ready to embrace them and make
room for them...
“We should not set precondi
tions, on the contrary, we must
convey the message that our com
munal enterprise—the Jewish
Federation—extends itself and
invites every individual and every
discrete group into an interde
pendent relationship with com
munity, representing our belief
that ‘all Jews are responsible to
and for one another’.”
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