Ohio Jewish Chronicle, 1990-06-14

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VOL. 68 NO. 24
JUNE 14, 1990-SIVAN 21, 5750
Devoted to American
and Jewish ideals.
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Supreme Court Rules That Religious Clubs
Are Entitled To Use Of School Facilities
Dr. Judy Genshaft Receives
Award From Jerusalem Mayor
On May 24, Dr. Judy Genshaft (center), chairwoman
of the Israel Department Committee of the Columbus
Jewish Federation, was given an award from Teddy
Kolek, mayor of Jerusalem and Simcha Dinitz, director of the Jewish Agency, at the home of Leonard (left)
and Ellen Schottenstein (right). Dr. Genshaft was cited
for her contributions toward the relationship between
Israel and the diaspora and for establishing an interna-1
tional exchange college program that provides opportunities for American students from Ohio State University to study for full credit at the Hebrew University of
Jerusalem.
WASHINGTON (JTA) -
Jewish groups are distressed
at the Supreme Court's decision last week to uphold a
law requiring public high
schools to give religious
clubs the same access to
school facilities as other
"non-curriculum-related"
groups.
In an 8-1 ruling, the court
said an Omaha, Neb., high
school had to allow a Bible-
study group to meet after
hours on school property.
In doing so, it upheld the
constitutionality of the Equal
Access Act of 1984, which requires public schools that allow "one or more non-curriculum-related student groups
to meet on school premises
during non-instructional
time" to grant the same
privilege to religious groups.
Jewish groups strenuously
Diversity Of Conservative Movement
Has Precipitated An Identity Crisis
■>   By Elena Neuman    ■
KIAMESHA LAKE, N.Y.
(JTA) - Conservative Judaism has been called a movement of both tradition and
change, a midpoint between
Orthodoxy and Reform Judaism and an example of
unity that allows for diversity ■ y*;.   -
But as the Conservative
movement has strived to be
all of these things simultaneously, it has left many confused about what the movement stands for and where it
is headed.
In fact, the very identity of
the future of Conservative
Judaism was at the core of
discussions during the recent 90th meeting of the Rabbinical Assembly, Conservative Judaism's 1,300-mem-
ber central body of rabbis.
"On this 90th year of the
Rabbinical Assembly, we
are struggling with the
forces of dissension, doubt
and dismay. Critical observers have opined that our
movement is in disarray,"
Rabbi Irwin Groner,. the
newly elected president of
the assembly, said in an address to more than 600 rabbis
gathered at the Concord
"Hotel here.
"We are challenged by an
assertive and triumphalist
Orthodoxy on our right and
•OPERATION EXODUS'
SOV i ET K ESli'l'TL KM ENT
This Week
Escort Soviet Jews ......3
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by a vigorous, growing Reform movement on our left,"
he said. "We are dissatisfied
with the state of our movement, we fall short in our
own eyes, we are pessimistic
about our future."
Groner attributed this perceived malaise to the centrist position of the movement. Stressing the importance of halachah and tradi-
, tion, while also affirming the
value of adaptations to modernity, Conservative Judaism has often defined itself
by what it is not.
As Rabbi David Nelson of
Temple Beth Shalom in Oak
Park, Mich., put it: "There
is a knowledge of who we
are: We're not Reform or
Orthodox; we buffet somewhere in between."
Conservative rabbis point
to the movement's membership of over 1.5 million congregational members -
making it possibly the largest branch of Judaism in the
United States and Canada -
as testament to the success
of Conservative Judaism's
centrist position.
"Our strength is that we
serve a whole range of
thought, which is where people are at," said Nelson.
But many Conservative
rabbis today feel that such
diversity of thought and
halachic observance has
been a mixed blessing, leaving congregants confused as
to where the movement
stands on ideological and
spiritual issues.
"If you don't adapt, you ul-
' timately dry up. But if you
fall for every fad, you stand
for nothing," observed Rabbi Arnold Goodman, a past
president of the Rabbinical
Assembly and religious leader of Ahavath Achim Congregation in Atlanta.
Rabbi Neil Gilman, associate professor of philosophy
at the Jewish Theological
Seminary of America, criticized the movement in general, and JTS in particular,.
for its emphasis on thought
and scholarship, at the expense of spirituality and theology.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 17
oppose the law and have
challenged it in court, contending it violates the First
Amendment's bah on government endorsement of religion.
The court also rejected a
petition from Jev/ish and
other religious groups to reconsider its April 17 decision
allowing Oregon to prosecute two members of an Indian church who use peyote
in religious rituals.
In that case, the court
ruled that enforcing a state
law that makes it a crime to
possess or use the hallucinogen would not infringe upon
the Indians' First Amendment right to free exercise of
religion.
Jewish groups have expressed, concern about the
ruling, fearing it could be
used as a precedent to prosecute Jews for various practices that might be banned
by local laws. An example
would be drinking of Kiddush wine by minors not old
enough to consume alcohol
legally.
In light of the court's re^
fusal to rehear the case,
Jewish groups such as Agudath Israel of America and
the Anti-Defamation League
of B'nai B'rith will now examine various state laws to
see if they can be strengthened to protect religious
practices.
The decision in the peyote
case "turned back free-exercise jurisprudence many,
many decades," commented
Abba Cohen, Agudath
Israel's Washington repre-
Jewish Community Blood Drive
Scheduled For July 5 At Center
When it comes to celebrating life, nothing surpasses
the gift of life itself both for
the giyer and the recipient.
Community members can
give the gift of life by taking
part in the Jewish Community Blood Drive July 5 at the
Leo Yassenoff Jewish Center, 1125 College Ave., from
12:30 to 6:30 p.m. Blood is
badly heeded for hospital patients and emergency situations.
The blood is supplied to 50
central Ohio hospitals and
medical facilities. It may
find its way to a premature
baby, a leukemia victim, an
organ transplant or a surgery patient.
Community response to
the contirtuous need for blood
has been on the rise. Last
year almost 400 pints were
collected and the prospect of
increasing that number this
sentative.
Donald Mintz, chairman of
ADL's Civil Rights Committee, called the ruling "extremely disturbing;"
Mark Stern, legal director
of the American Jewish Congress, said both court decisions threaten religious liberty, although he would not
say whether the greater
threat is government interference in religious practice
or government "allowing it^
self to aid religion."
Both cases show that on religious issues, the court is
"not willing to second-guess
the judgment of democratic
bodies," Stern said, referring to the Oregon state legislature in the peyote case
and to Congress in the case
involving the Omaha high
school.
The Omaha case pitted
Westside Community High
School against Bridget Mer-
gens, who as a senior had
tried unsuccessfully in 1985
to win official recognition
from the school for a Bible-
study group she wanted to
hold after classes.
A federal district court
ruled that the school could
refuse to grant recognition to
the Bible study group, but
the decision was reversed in
February 1989 by the 8th
U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals
in St. Louis.
When the case went to the
Supreme Court, AJCongress
served as co-counset, largely
writing the brief filed on the
high school's behalf. Friend-
of-the-court briefs backing
the school were submitted by
the American Jewish Committee and the ADL, which
did so on behalf of the National  Jewish  Community
CONTINUED ON PAGE 9
Local Community Members Invited
To Escort Soviet Jews To Israel
year is excellent, according
to organizers. Last year, a
number of donors were newly arrived in Columbus from
Russia and communicated
through an interpreter.
Donors must be at least 17
years of age, weigh at least.
110 pounds, be in good health
and have no history of hepatitis. The entire procedure,
from filling out some health
forms, receiving a medical
check and donating, takes
little more than an hour. Actually, giving blood accounts
for only ten minutes. Afterward there are free sandwiches, cookies and beverages in the canteen. And,
best of all, the body quickly
replaces the pint of blood
given.
Donating is a quick and
easy procedure. It is not possible to get AIDS or other in-
CONTINUEDON PAGE 7
Members of the Columbus
Jewish community are invited to escort Soviet Jews to
freedom during an upcoming
community mission, announced Irving Schottenstein and Leslie Wexner, co-
chairmen of the ^^"Operation Exodus" Campaign.
The mission will fly to Budapest, Hungary on Thursday, Sept. 6. Mission participants will spend Shabbat in
Budapest after which they
will escort 200 Soviet Jews to
Tel Aviv aboard an El Al
charter. The mission will return to Columbus on Sunday,
Sept. 16.
"The number of Jews leaving the Soviet Union has
been increasing monthly and
is expected to reach 20,000 a
month by July," explained
Norman Traeger; co-executive vice chairman of the
Campaign. "By the tens of
thousands, Soviet Jews are
making their way from a
land of oppression to new
lives in freedom, with over
80,000 Soviet Jews anticipated to pass through Budapest
this sflmmer."
Marcy Gross, co-executive
vice chairwoman and one of,:
the mission leaders, notes
that "members of the Columbus Jewish community
are invited to join in this experience as we literally walk
in their footsteps as we accompany these Soviet Jews
on their flight to freedom."
Mission participants will
learn firsthand about conditions in the Soviet Union and
the fear of anti-Semitism
that now permeates the Soviet Jewish community. In Is
rael, the mission will meet
with high level government
officials to learn about the
challenges of providing
housing, job training and acculturation to Israeli society.
The mission will cost $995
per person for first time mission participants and $1,495
for those who have participated on missions in the
past. In addition to one's 1991
regular Campaign gift, there
will be a minimum commitment to the Operation Exodus Campaign for first timers of $1,000 per person or
$1,500 per couple, and for returnees, $1,500 per person or
$2,500 per couple. The Operation Exodus gift is payable
one third in 1990, one third in
1991 and one third in 1992.
An informational evening
has been planned for Tuesday, July 10, at 7:30 p.m. at
the offices of the Columbus
Jewish Federation in the
Esther C. Melton Community Services Building, 1175
College Ave. The community
is invited.
Gross explains, "We have
the wonderous chance to literally bring them home. Fifty years ago, our people had
nowhere to turn. Today there
is Israel. We will embrace
our brothers and sisters in
Budapest, board our charter
to Tel Aviv and be with
them, hand in hand, as they
begin new lives in freedom. I
can't imagine anyone passing up such a momentous opportunity."
For more information
about the mission, call Mitch
Orlik at the Federation office, 237-7686.