Community
Cover Story/Spirituality
can expect, he insists, when it comes to balancing solidarity with safety
"[His ego's] an approi tiate size, permitting him to take clear-cut positions and
"When there are bomb attacks in Jerusalem, schools cancel their trips to the
stay with them. Eric doesn't need adulation or attention to feed his ego. He's very
city," he says. "When there's violence in the Galilee, hotel rooms are empty [as
balanced."
Israelis stay away]. Israelis love their kids and won't put them in danger, and I don't
Rabbi Yoffie's decision to cancel the teen trips — "perhaps the most difficult sin-
believe
they expect us to do that either."
gle decision that I have had to make as president of the UAHC" — is an example.
But he insists he's comfortable with it because he consulted extensively with his
staff and leadership before making the decision, a claim backed up by numerous
Substance Over Schmooze
officers and board members. And while he admits there were impassioned differ-
Trying to reach the inner core of Eric Yoffie is like prospecting for oil in Israel.
ences of opinion when the UAHC board met, his leadership backed his decision
Yeah, someone might hit a small gusher now and then, but for the most part, it's a
by a wide margin."
losing proposition. But raise a meaty issue and he kicks right into gear: He's the 'Al
After all, enrollment for the trips was way down — about 300 compared to
Gore" of American Jewry -
1,500 a year ago. Lawyers were worried about potential liability in light of the U.S.
Rabbi Yoffie's eyes ignite when explaining his movement's stances on God,
State Department's travel warning, and a suicide bomber had just killed 21 young
Torah, Israel and social action — the "pillars of the Jewish people." Challenge him
Israelis at a Tel Aviv discotheque. In the end, the issue of safety decided the matter.
on his movement's stances on interfaith couples and gay unions, and his cheeks
"There is a distinction between advocating for teens, or adults, to go to Israel —
turn red as his tie.
a distinction not everyone wants to admit," Rabbi Yoffie says. "You count on adults
But ask him about what he does away from the office and his face drains back to
to use good judgment" when told not to go somewhere, but "teenagers are immune
the cream color of his dress shirt.
to being told something is unsafe — and they tend to wander off"
He won't talk about his prayer and learning practices, other than to offer that he
While Israeli Reform rabbis remain extremely angry, Rabbi Kroloff insists there
does a bit of both each day. Ask him about his two children and his gives one-line
is "widespread" support for this decision among American rabbis, and most Reform
responses.
leaders have circled the wagons around their embattled leader. Yet, just about every-
Like his office — a desk and chairs, a glass-front credenza with a handful of
one interviewed for this story was either against the decision itself, or objected to
books, a couple of forgettable pictures on the walls — his official biography is
the way it was presented.
sparse. It paints the picture of an East Coast intellectual and company man.
"Eric's move to cance he trips was a serious blunder," says Rabbi Stanley
He was born in 1948, the same year as Israel, and raised in Worcester by Reform
Davids of Temple Emanu-El in Dunwoody, Ga. "It was made in the wrong atmos-
parents; he is the first leader of the movement raised as a Reform Jew.
phere, under panic," he says. Still, Rabbi Davids — who previously served as the
A Phi Beta Kappa, magna cum laude graduate of Brandeis University in
spiritual leader of the congregation in Worcester, Mass., where Eric Yoffie grew up
Waltham,
Mass., Rabbi Yoffie was ordained at Hebrew Union College-Jewish
(Davids was also the senior rabbi when Rabbi Yoffie's mother-was president of the
Institute of Religion in New York in 1974. He served congregations in Lynbrook,
shul) — praises him for being "incredibly bright, thoughtful and principled."
N.Y., and Durham, N.C., before joining the UAHC in 1980 as director of its
Rabbi Davids suggests that Rabbi Yoffie's adherence to principle may account
Midwest Council.
for his "mistaken" course on the trips: "Because Eric is a principled guy, he doesn't
He was executive director of the Association of Reform Zionists of America, a
necessarily care about the politics — the perceptions — that surround his princi-
pled decisions."
The decision motivated traditional critics of the Reform
movement to charge that this "breach of solidarity" with Israel
demonstrates that Reform Jews are less committed to Israel
than their Orthodox and Conservative counterparts.
That angers Boston attorney Jerry Somers, UAHC's past
board chair, who notes that the Reform movement already has
sent 30,000 youth to Israel, and continues to send adults of all
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ages to the Jewish state.
"Look, Eric agonized over this decision and clearly recog-
nized the negative ramifications," he says. "Give him credit; he
is courageous, holds certain convictions, but also weighs all the
pros and cons before making a decision. He is not politically
naive; don't believe that for a minute."
Dennis Frank, a vice -7resident of Temple Beth El in
Bloomfield Township, has known the rabbi for the last 10 years
through his work as a UAHC board member and a past presi-
dent of the Metropolitan Detroit Federation of Reform
logoAlziett, ",r"
Synagogues.
"The safety and comfort level of our youth is our major
concern," Frank said. "I think Rabbi Yoffie and the UAHC
youth leadership made the correct decision to cancel the NFTY
(North American Federation of Temple Youth) Israel trips this
summer. We all continue to be committed to Israel and hope
that we will be able to resume our youth programs again in the
linetiONOmm:
very near future."
Rabbi Klein adds, "I applaud his recent decision. As . he said,
this was probably the most difficult decision he has ever made
as a rabbi, but I stand with him."
Rabbi Yoffie, too, defends his record on Israel. He fancies
himself an ardent Zionist, who reads the Hebrew press each
morning, while riding a New Jersey Transit commuter train to
work. He went to Israel during the Gulf War and was there this
week for a series of meetings. But there is only so much anyone
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