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Bonded
To Israel?
Orthodox congregations change annual Israel Bond
appeal in response to peace accord.
JILL DAVIDSON SKLAR STAFF WRITER
t isn't that Rabbi Steven
Weil and Young Israel of
Greenfield have any-
thing against Israel
Bonds. Hardly. @Regu-
lar Copy:After years of
tireless sales campaigns,
the congregation once again
made its annual appeal for bonds
this Rosh Hashanah.
But this year for the first time,
Young Israel of Greenfield also
held an appeal for YESHA Heart-
land Campaign, a Teaneck, N.J.,
group that raises funds for Israeli
communities beyond the "green
line," areas defined in the recent
peace accords to have Palestin-
ian self-rule.
"We gave people the option,"
Rabbi Weil said. "Some of the
congregants were not comfortable
contributing to Israel Bonds."
"We, as Diaspora Jews, still
have to be involved in the devel-
opment of the homeland," he said.
Young Israel of Greenfield is
one of many congregations across
the country changing its way of
handling annual appeals for Is-
rael in the wake of the peace ac-
cords, partly to appease
congregants who are supportive
of organizations that support the
settlements.
While money sent for Israel
Bonds goes to support the Israeli
government's economic develop-
ment budget, funds are not dis-
persed as widely to areas
considered settlements due to
peace and related economic
agreements. YESHA, on the oth-
er hand, buys ambulances and
pays for parks in these areas,
things that would otherwise go
unfunded.
Like Young Israel of Green-
field, some congregations offer op-
tions to the congregants; others
are doing away with Israel Bonds
altogether, instead favoring ap-
peals for pro-settlement organi-
zations. Still more, like Young
Israel of Southfield, are not trum-
peting the annual appeal with vo-
cal endorsements but will instead
silently pass out cards which pro-
vide the opportunity to buy
bonds.
Deciding to keep the bond ap-
peal on a quieter keel was diffi-
cult, said Rabbi Elimelech
Goldberg of Young Israel of
Southfield. "It was a heart-
wrenching decision," he said.
Neither Rab-
bi Goldberg nor
Protesting the
Rabbi Weil en-
peace accord in
dorsed the pro-
Washington.
settlement
fund-raising or-
ganizations nor did they de-
nounce Israel Bonds; on the
contrary, both have said they sup-
port the funding of Israel through
tzedakah or bond appeals.
But the changes in some local
congregations mirror a national
trend of talking about the politics
of Israel during the holiest of sea-
sons. Spurred by the recent sign-
ing of the Oslo II agreement
between Israel and the Palestin-
ian Liberation Organization,
many congregations and groups
— mostly Orthodox — are sug-
gesting action to congregants by
directing their donations to pro-
settlement causes or by influ-
encing politicians.
* In a letter sent to constituent
synagogues, the National Coun-
cil of Young Israel, a modern Or-
thodox movement to which
Young Israel congregations be-
long, related stories of inhumane
treatment by Israeli police
against settlers. Accordingly,
NCYI urged congregations to of-
fer an alternative to Israel Bonds
or United Jewish Appeal as these
funds do not go to support the
communities outside the green
line.
"We ask that you notify the
National Council office of the re-
sults of your appeal so that we
can inform the rest of the Jewish
community and the Israeli gov-
ernment of the true level of sup-
port here for the settler
movement," the letter reads.
In addition, NCYI asked mem-
bers to contact congressmen and
senators and relate their concern
for the American Jews "whose
lives and well-being are being ;1:-
BONDED page 10
The Unaffiliated Jew
Colloquium will consider lost members of the tribe.
RUTH LITTMANN STAFF WRITER
arilyn Rowens fell out of
the loop.
Though raised in a
Conservative house-
hold, she pulled away from Ju-
daism as a child, not long after
her father died in 1939. For
years, Ms. Rowens asked ques-
tions about life and death, but
she couldn't find her answers in
religion.
"Later in life, my husband and
I would celebrate the High Hol-
idays with dinner at his family's
home, but we had no member-
ship in a synagogue or temple,"
she says. "We were not connect-
ed. We did not belong."
Before Ms. Rowens joined the
Birmingham Temple, she was
part of America's 2.9 million
Jews who remain unaffiliated —
about half the U.S. Jewish pop-
ulation. Ms. Rowens believes a
myriad of reasons exist for this
estrangement. Among them:
high-priced dues, the time com-
mitment and philosophical dif-
ferences.
To address these issues and
others, Jews from around the
world will gather in Farmington
Hills for "Colloquium '95: The
Unaffiliated Jew," a four-day con-
ference to be held Oct. 12-15 at
the Pivnick Center for Human-
istic Judaism/Birmingham Tem-
ple.
The conference will feature
Shoshana Cardin, chair of the
United Israel Appeal, author
Anne Roiphe, Holocaust schol-
ar Yehuda Bauer and 13 other
Jewish notables from a variety
of religious and secular back-
grounds.
Shoshana Cardin
with two events open to the gen-
eral public. At 7:30 p.m. Thurs-
day, artist Felice Malkin will
unveil a photo exhibit of Jewish
figurative art at the Maple-Drake
Jewish Community Center. At
8:30, Ms. Cardin will deliver a
keynote address, also at the JCC,
on the topic of affiliation. Both
engagements are free of charge.
A reception will follow.
"Until recently, the American
Jewish community has done
more breast beating than out-
reach," Ms. Cardin says. "If the
issue of affiliation goes unad-
dressed, we will have failed those
Jews who are looking for a pas-
sage into a very beautiful way of
life."
Throughout the conference,
participants will take a look at
different understandings of Ju-
daism. Ms. Cardin, a member of
the Conservative movement,
notes that less-observant Jews
might seek connections through
secular Jewish causes like social
justice, groups for battered
women or children in need. Is-
raeli dance, Jewish literature and
other cultural aspects of Judaism
provide additional entry points.
"We will explore the diversity
of ways to approach Jewish life,"
Ms. Cardin. says.
Another Colloquium event
"We do not expect agreement.
But we do expect a fresh and vi-
tal vision will emerge from this
gathering," says Colloquium di-
rector Nancy Silver Shalit of
West Bloomfield.
The Colloquium will begin UNAFFILIATED page 22