Parade Deal Falls
As Orthodox Boycott
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New York (JTA) — A short-
lived compromise that would
have allowed New York's
gay and lesbian synagogue
to march in the local Salute
to Israel parade fell apart, as
Orthodox grops boycotted the
event.
Each side has accused the
other of breaking the deal,
which would have had the
synagogue marching under
a shared banner with the
Association of Reform
Zionists of America.
The banner, to be held
aloft by members of both
groups during the May 9 pa-
rade down Manhattan's Fif-
th Avenue, would have read:
"ARZA is proud to join with
Congregation Beth Simchat
Torah in saluting Israel."
At least 20 of the 38 day
schools that have participated
in years past decided to pull
out.
Orthodox sources say that
it was the publicity about
the compromise which
angered them and led them
to reconsider participating
in the annual march.
According to the dean of
the Hebrew Academy of
Nassau County, Rabbi
Moshe Gottesman, part of
the compromise was that
"there would be no
publicity" about it.
Since the Reform Zionists
made the news public, "the
focus is not anymore Israel."
But Rabbi Sharon Klein-
baum, spiritual leader of the
gay and lesbian synagogue,
said, "That was absolutely
not part of the compromise."
Rabbi Ammiel Hirsch, ex-
ecutive director of ARZA,
said "I reject the notion that
it's our fault.
Officials of the American
Zionist Youth Foundation,
which organized the annual
parade, had no comment on
any aspect of the com-
promise or the boycott.
The compromise
negotiated between Or-
thodox groups and the gay
synagogue was made public
on the afternoon of April
20th by ARZA, which an-
nounced that the synagogue
would march with the
Reform organization under a
banner containing both
groups' names.
That evening, New York
Mayor David Dinkins, at a
reception with Jewish
leaders in honor of Israel's
independence day, said he
was pleased a compromise
had been reached and that
he would be marching at the
head of the parade.
A senior behind-the-scenes
player involved in negotia-
ting the settlement said that
neither AZYF nor either
side in the dispute had
notified the mayor's aides.
The mayor's staff was
eager for the conflict to be
resolved before the Gracie
Mansion reception and had
contact with many of those
involved in the issue.
At a meeting of the
Yeshiva Principal's Council
the following day, represen-
tatives of 20 schools voted
unanimously to withdraw
from the parade, said par-
ticipants.
That same afternoon, more
than 100 members of the ex-
ecutive board of the Rab-
binical Council of America
unanimously passed a
resolution "deploring the in-
clusion of the gay synagogue
as a group," said Rabbi
Moshe Gorelick, president of
the Orthodox group.
The parade's executive
organizer, Sam Domb, said,
"If they're pulling out that's
their business. I'm not wor-
ried about the parade falling
apart."
In an interview on March
29, AZYF chair Rab bi
Joseph Sternstein said that
the participation of Or-
thodox groups, whom he
estimated accounted in
years past for a least half of
the participating institu-
tions, was an important con-
sideration.
"When you have tens of
thousands pulling out, then
it's a no-win situation.
Numbers are important," he
said.
But, said one supporter of
the gay and lesbian syn-
agogue, blaming publicity is
"just an excuse" for the Or-
thodox groups.
"What were they expec-
ting? That the press would
not ask about the resolu-
tion" of this? she asked.
"No one should be missing
— no one," Rabbi Lookstein,
the principal of New York's
Ramaz School, rabbi of Con-
gregation Kehilath
Jeshurun and first vice pres-
ident of the Synagogue
Council of America, said in a
statement.
.
Where there is no peace,
prayers are not accepted.
—Nahman of Bratslav
c/\