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JAMES D. BESSER WASHINGTON COR RESPONDENT

D

o other minorities have the nomic start.
equivalent of the uneu-
Umbrella groups such as
phoniously acronymized NJCRAC became possible be-
NJCRAC — soon to be the cause that overarching consen-
Jewish Council on Public Affairs sus shoved the big differences
(JCPA)?
between groups of Jews into the
That question was hard to background.
avoid during the group's recent
At home, the need to fight bla-
plenum, an annual rite intended tant and sometimes official anti-
to hammer out consensus posi- Semitism and to beat back efforts
tions on a wide range of issues to to promote Christianity as the
guide Jewish activists around the nation's quasi-official religion pro-
country in their advocacy work.
duced strong coalitions in the
Increasingly, that consensus Jewish world that put political
is elusive; too often, the process and philosophical differences on
really means the quest for a low- hold.
est common denominator that
But times have changed, and
produces mushy, meaningless po- even those baseline consensus po-
sition statements.
sitions have become more slip-
But there's also something no- pery. Israel is the strongest power
ble and intriguing about the ef- in the Middle East, by far; war is
fort.
still a possibility, but American
These are people who take the Jews no longer live in dread that
idea of public policy and commu- Israel is on the brink of extinc-
nity service seriously; to them, tion.
the effort to find points of com-
Domestically, anti-Semitism
monality in a highly diverse com- is at an all-time low. Church-
munity takes on almost religious state separation remains an im-
importance.
portant issue in theory, but most
In a nation where half of all Jews lack a gut-level sense of why
voters can't name the speaker of the fight is so important.
the House, the delegates at
NJCRAC plenums are well-in-
formed and articulate, and deeply
committed to lives of Jewish ac-
tivism.
Still, one wonders: Are the con-
sensus seekers in denial about
the extent to which the American
These shifts redefine the ter-
Jewish community is really a rain for the big umbrella organi-
handful of communities, with zations such as NJCRAC; the
very different political and reli- consensus model of Jewish ac-
gious agendas?
tivism may no longer make sense.
Does the fight for consensus
In fact, the issues that divide
reduce the Jewish community's us — religion, the best route to
impact by watering down our po- Jewish continuity, the character
sitions on the top issues of the and not just the survival of Israel
day?
— are now the ones at the top of
The dilemma for NJCRAC is our communal agenda, not the is-
this: How can the group move be- sues that have traditionally
yond an outmoded consensus brought us together.
model of activism and fulfill the
But the elusive nature of con-
enormous promise of its corps of sensus doesn't mean that
activists? How can it serve as a NJCRAC, with its interminable
vital resource for community debates and convoluted decision-
groups across the nation without making processes, is a commu-
this endless quest for baseline po- nal dinosaur.
sitions?
NJCRAC can be an increas-
Harsh divisions are nothing ingly valuable part of the Jewish
new in the Jewish community Or- communal world by serving as a
thodox vs. non-Orthodox, German central resource for Jewish
vs. Eastern European, New Deal groups fighting battles in city
Democrats vs. Jewish neo-con- halls and statehouses on a wide
servatives, assimilationists vs. sep- range of issues, from school
aratists, Likudniks vs. Laborites. vouchers to welfare reform.
But threats to Israel's exis-
The group can serve as a vi-
tence and persistent anti-Semi- tal spur to activism at every lev-
tism in this country muffled those el by laying out the issues and
differences. In the decades after providing information, teaching
Israel's creation, Jews felt the the basics of political and social
need to unite behind efforts to activism and bringing together
win American support for the en- Jews interested in activism —
dangered nation and maintain even when there is no hope of
the drive to give Israel a solid eco- consensus.

Are the consensus
seekers in denial.

1997 BMW 7401

ERHARD
BMW
642-0505

The Consensus
Conundrum

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*27 month closed end lease subject to approved credit with BMWFS. $3500 non-refundable down payment required. Title, license and use tax addi
,
tional. A security deposit of $800.00, 10,000 miles per year limit, 15 cents per mile over limit. Option to purchase at lease end of $44,761.50. Total pay-
ments equal to ad price + 6% x 27. Vehicles subject to availability and may need to be ordered. Scheduled Maintenance provided by BMW of North
America. Sale ends Feb. 28, 1997.

❑

