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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. LET ME HANDLE YOUR TRANSPORTATION NEEDS at DYER & DYER VOLVO We carry all European models new & used. Offer up to 84 months financing and 72 months leasing. Harvey Glickson Sales & Leasing Dyer & Dyer Volvo 5260 Peachtree Industrial Blvd. Chamblee, Georgia 30341 -452-0077- 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’.” £77i& ffle/treuh ^Aixu/esn// af^lt/cuito cort/ia//(f t/ow to attenc/ At Q)imier offflonor tst trAa/e to tSunc/ay , t/if foartei y si/A of Q)ec wn/>er Atist&teesi; /uinc/reA asitl eu/Atf -sioo AAstoi &eac/urec AStcvza ffixrte/ Ara/u/ &>a/Jroom (Reception 6 :00 f.m. Q)i/uier 7 OO f.m. ^/ketary fauhs (9/nseroe</ Gouoert S6O.OO/ter jterson ^\o <. \'o/icitation of TFu/u/a DINNER OF HONOR HOST COMMITTEE Mr. & Mrs. Henry Birnbrey Dr. & Mrs. Ephraim Frankel Chairpersons Mr. & Mrs. Steve Alterman Mr. & Mrs. Michael Left Mr. & Mrs. Eliot Arnovitz Rabbi & Mrs. Leonard Lifshen Mr. & Mrs. Harold Arnovitz Mr. & Mrs. Charles Mamane Mr. & Mrs. Laury Bagen Mr. & Mrs. H. Stephen Merlin Mr. & Mrs. Ben Blatt Mr. & Mrs. David Minkin Mr. & Mrs. Leonard Bock Mr. & Mrs. Donald Minsk Dr. & Mrs. Arthur Bodner Mr. & Mrs. Malcolm Minsk Dr. & Mrs. Sam Eden Dr. & Mrs. Mark Safra Ms. Mickie Eisenberg Dr. & Mrs. Paul Sanders Mr. & Mrs. Bill Frank Dr. & Mrs. Allen Shaw Rabbi & Mrs. Emanuel Feldman Dr. & Mrs. Stanley Sherman Mr. & Mrs. Sidney Feldman Mr. & Mrs. Jerry Siegel Mr. & Mrs. Leon Goldstein Dr. & Mrs. Victor Sliverman Cantor & Mrs. Isaac Goodfriend Mr & Mrs. Marshall Solomon Mr. & Mrs. Adrian Grant Mr. & Mrs. Donald Stein Mr. & Mrs. Alvin H. Greenberg Mr. & Mrs. Jeffrey Stein Dr. & Mrs. Irving L. Greenberg Dr. & Mrs. Kenneth Stein Mr. & Mrs. Phil Haber Mr. & Mrs. Stanley Tenenbaum Dr. & Mrs. Stanley Kalish Mr. & Mrs. Terry Tenenbaum Mr. & Mrs. Marvin Kaplan Mr. & Mrs. David Watkins Dr. & Mrs. Herbert Karp Rabbi & Mrs. Lewis Weinreich Mr. & Mrs. Ed Krick Mr. & Mrs. Steven Zier For more information, please call the Hebrew Academy, 634-7388.