PROFILE

Confrontational Rabbi

Avi Weiss, whose presence at the Auschwitz convent this summer
is but the latest in a long history of dramatic protests,
says he is a reluctant activist.

- RUTH MASON

Special to The Jewish News

I

t's hard to dislike Rabbi
Avi Weiss, one on one.
He is a controversial and
unsettling personality who
has aroused criticism in the
Jewish community for his
confrontational style of pro-
tests over causes from Sovi-
et Jewry to Kurt Waldheim
to the convent at Auschwitz.
But the spiritual leader of
the Hebrew Institute of
Riverdale in New York, who
most recently captured
headlines as the leader of a
group that invaded and was
assaulted in the convent at
Auschwitz this summer —
adding fuel to the fire of an
international crisis in Catho-
lic-Jewish relations — is
warm, soft-spoken and per-
sonable in an interview.
He takes no phone calls
during our conversation.
Even a New York Times re-
porter, calling for a com-
ment on the day the Vatican
said the Auschwitz convent
should move, is told to call
back.
Not exactly the image
many have of Rabbi Weiss,
who critics consider a public-
ity hound. Clearly the rabbi,
45, is not unfamiliar to
headline writers and leaders
of the American Jewish es-
tablishment. For years, he
has been making trouble.
His stances on causes close
to his heart -- like oppressed
Jewry, Israel and the Holo-
caust -- is activist, and his
activism is strident. He has
chained himself to fences,
picketed public and Jewish
communal events with a
bullhorn in his hands, worn
the uniform of a concentra-
tion camp inmate, and been
arrested numerous times, in
the U.S. and Europe, all in
order to draw attention to
causes he supports.
Critics say he speaks with

44

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 3, 1989

more passion than reason.
Regarding the recent
Auschwitz convent contro-
versy, Rabbi Marc Tanen-
baum, immediate past pres-
ident of the International
Committee for Inter-
religious Consultations;
clearly had Rabbi Weiss in
mind when he criticized
those who "claim to repre-
sent the Jewish people but
act out their own style by
attacking and condemning
the Catholic Church, the
Vatican and the papacy."
He said that "nothing is to
be gained if we allow the
present situation to be dom-
inated by self-appointed
Jewish leaders from the
streets."
And a long-time supporter
of Jonathan Pollard, con-
victed of spying on the U.S.
for Israel, complains that
Rabbi Weiss maintains a
high profile as an advocate
but has lacked follow-
through. (Anne Pollard,
Jonathan's wife, attended
Rabbi Weiss's synagogue
for Rosh Hashanah during
her ten-day parole.)
But Rabbi Weiss is far
from all noise and bluster.
He sticks his neck out on
unpopular issues and puts
his money where his mouth
is. He has repeatedly risked
and received criticism from
Orthodox colleagues for his
pluralistic stands. He has
bucked the Orthodox tide in
strongly supporting wo-
men's prayer groups. The
mechitza in his sanctuary
allows for equal viewing and
includes a ramp to the bi-
mah from the women's side.
The ramps are there for an-
other reason as well. The
Hebrew Institute of River-
dale — both in its restrooms
and its bimah — is accessi-
ble to the handicapped. On
Sundays, the shul invites
the retarded and the elderly
to special programs and
these, and indeed any Jews

cI

An international incident at Auschwitz: Rabbi Weiss, with Glenn Richter in
background, confronts bystanders taunting the protestors.

