Divisive Debate Made possible by a generous gift from Bill and Audrey Farber Sunday, February 29, 2004 10:30 a.m. - 4:00 p.m. Orthodox groups support Bush's marriage amendment, but don't relish the fight MATTHEW E. BERGER Jewish Telegraphic Agency Boston I f President Bush hoped to galva- nize American conservatives with his proposed constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage, it has had the reverse effect among Jews. Jewish liberals are raring for a fight, while the more conservative streams are less than enthusiastic. David Luchins, a longtime vice president of the Orthodox Union, said he believed his organization would support the amendment but would not be among its most vocal back- ers. "This is not a battle, this is not a fight we're looking forward to or we're enjoy- ing," Luchins said at the Jewish Council for Public Affairs plenum in Boston, where organizational officials were debat- ing the issue Tuesday at the very hour of Bush's announcement. "If we are to prevent the meaning of marriage from being changed forever, our nation must enact a constitutional amendment to protect marriage in America," Bush said Tuesday, throwing down the gauntlet to Congress and the states to push the issue forward. Liberal groups were outraged at what they say is an encroachment on a docu- ment many consider sacrosanct — the U.S. Constitution. "It -raises the issue of tampering with the Constitution, and that is of significant concern to this com- munity," said David Saperstein, the exec- utive director of the Religious Action Center of Reform Judaism. Luchins faced tough questions from the crowd in the conference room at the gathering of the umbrella group for local Community relations councils and national organizations. In the audience were gay-rights supporters and students attending the Hillel Forum on Public Policy, which took place simultaneously with the JCPA forum. Torah Dictum Luchins said he believed the Orthodox community should do its best not to be "dragged into the pits of gay bashing and demoralization" in a national debate on the marriage amendment. "I will do everything in my power to make it crys- tal clear that the Torah teaches that every human being is important," he said. Related editorial: page 27 The Orthodox Union and Agudath. Israel of America are not expected to formally join the Alliance for Marriage, a broad coalition of groups supporting the amendment, because some members of the board of advisers are linked to anti-Israel and anti-Semitic organiza- tions. Abba Cohen, Washington director and counsel of Agudath Israel of America, which represents fervently Orthodox Jews, said his organization has supported the amendment for sever- al years. He applauded Bush's announcement. The Orthodox Union is expected to formally decide to back the amendment within the next few weeks. Nathan Diament, director of the O.U.'s Institute for Public Affairs, said the Orthodox had never sought a battle that divides more than it unites. "We feel this has been forced upon us by the gay-rights activists, and they are the ones bringing litigation and forcing this issue upon the American people," said Diament, who turned down a last- minute invitation to attend the White House announcement because he was attending the Boston plenum. The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Boston has come out in support of the Massachusetts court ruling supporting gay marriage and, along with the local chapter of the Anti-Defamation League, has actively backed gay marriage. "We need to be proactive and need to be setting this forward as the pre-eminent civil rights issue for the next century," said Nancy Kaufman, the Boston JCRC director. Kaufman said Jews could help make the case by determining how the debate is cast. "When you discuss it as a civil- rights issue and not a religious issue, people begin to see it." JCPA did not formally debate gay marriage at its resolution session Monday evening, but the issue of rights for gays did intrude into a resolution supporting hate-crimes legislation and citing sexual orientation. The resolution's final language said: "The inclusion of any group in hate- crime laws need not be viewed as an expression of support for that group, but rather as a recognition of the reality that certain segments of our society are subject to significantly greater inci- dences of hate crimes." 0 Max M. Fisher Federation Building 6735 Telegraph Rd. • Bloomfield Hills 5 ways that YOU can get involved MAKE Mishloach Manot Parcels at home! KIN your completed Mishloach Manot to the Federation Building! CREATE a Purim Parcel Project Program of your own! MAKE Mishloach Manot Parcels with D'vora! TAKE your Mishloach Manot parcels from the Max M. 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