k
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A 13e- fining Concern
And he did it well. He understands the
kishkes ofJewish life."
"For many years, Detroit has recog-
nized Conrad Giles' tremendous abilities
and commitment to our community and
our people," said Detroit Federation Ex-
ecutive Vice President Bob Aronson.
'e're delighted and prou4V share him
with Amerienn Jewry as president of the
Council oftle„elitiOns. The fourth
CJF PrestIA
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in fund-raising.
There is an opportunity to merge CJF
with the UJA as a means of streamlin-
ing services that often overlap, according
to Dr. Giles,
"Our system has to somehow me
to the reality plan enormous Jewish
munity,” sal&Dr. Giles. "If we really e-
lieve in each other, we have to support
each other.
'We are losing Jewish people. There's
got to be a greater interdependency
among the cities. There are major chal-
lenges facing us. Look ahead, and you see
a new century, and it means we have to
take seriously these issues of continuity."
Dr. Giles said the cutback in the fed-
eral and state safety nets is putting added
pressure on local federations to pick up
and pay for services.
He jokes that some people occasional-
ly wish him their "condolences" as well
as mazel toys when they learn dins po-
sition.
"The way to greet me is only with
mazel toys," said Dr. Giles. "This is a job
of great privileges. It gives me an oppor-
tunity to collaborate with and have im-
pact on federation management. That's
what I want to do."
Flashback to last Thursda.y night. The
same crowd:that evacuated the night be-
fore was back again. A federation official
took the microphone and said, "We want-
ed to give Connie Giles a chance to re-
consider the presidency."
Dr. Giles' retort:
"I can tell you, no matter how or when
you learn you'll be president, everything
else is anti-climactic to this." 0
can be cei e -
the Stat
e views
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ven if it doesn't apply to
nversions, anal
a
Knesset that
versions are valid
iaspora rela-
ewish lead -
"
11 two
wee'
can J ews too
eek's General Assent
cil ofJewish Federa ons
move that some considered
Netan y u s face
It was the subject of fiery speeches
and discussion in the halls, as nearly
3,000 Jewish activists, academics and
politicos met for their annual confer-
ence. Buttons appeared on numerous
lapels by midweek urging Israel not to
reject 4 million [converted] Jews, a ref-
erence to the approximate number in
the'Diaspora.
"Ifs a deep concern that religious plu-
ralism will get shot down in Israel," said
Samuel Himmelrich of Baltimore, a
CJF vice president and member of its
executive committee.
"You have to recognize that fund-rais-
ing for Israel could take a negative turn
if a law would be promulgated" that
erodes the Law of Return, Mr. Him-
melrich said.
In a resolution approved overwhelm-
ingly by the Giles delegates, the orga-
nization urged the government of Israel
and the Knesset not to change any as-
pect of the Law of Return, which guar-
antees Israeli citizenship to any Jewish
immigrant. The council called the return
law "one of the pillars ofJevvish identi-
fication with the State of Israel in each
and every Jew-ish community around the
world."
ti* f.#
take
ioi des'.
le, and we've
'to make us
me re aesrve, more unifi Mr. Solen-
der Salit"If any legislation of this na-
ture divides us, by definition it weakens
us."
Still, the fact that North American
Jews were stepping so strongly into in-
ternal Israeli affairs raised some hack-
les, particularly in Orthodox circles.
"We have always rejected attempts to
transplant the pluralism of the Unit-
ed States or of Christian countries to
a Jewish society," Dr. Mandell
Ganchrow, president of the Orthodox
Union in the United States, told the
Jewish Telegraphic Agency before the
convention.
David Minkin, an Atlanta attorney
who chairs a newly formed Committee
on Religious Pluralism in the CJF,
stressed the gravity of the issue, saying
it would determine "how strong our
Jewish community will be."
But he harbored no illusions about
his chance of success. "In Israel, the feel-
ing toward us is, 'Why are you med-
dling?'" Mr. Minkin said. "We hope
Israel will listen to us. But the reality
is, it probably won't." El
►
o
-
ruling
th e
because tle,r€e
standing practice that giveS rth
dox authority over the legal status of
Judaism in Israel. When Mr. Ne
tanyahu won the election this spring,
he had to form a coalition with those
right-wing groups, and many Israel ob-
servers believe the expected conversion
law is one result of that pact.
Mr. Netanya.hu himself, in a speech
to the convention by satellite last Thurs-
day, tried to reassure Diaspora Jews
that they`won't be affected by any law
in Israel. "We are going to maintain the
status quo scrupulously," he told the
convention members.
Mr. Netanyahu said the "existing
arrangement in Israel ... which offers
Orthodox conversions," will not change.
But he promised to " " personally stand
in the breach, if necessary," to ensure
that Jews who are converted into Ju-
daism by Reform or Conservative rab-
bis outside of Israel "will be recognized
as Jews; they are recognized as Jews.
They can come to Israel and marry as
Jews, and that will not change."
Even after his speech, however, some
were unconvinced. "I did feel that the
prime minister indicated awareness of
our concerns," said Stephen D. Solen.-
Editor Phil Jacobs contributed to this
story.