'World

Conservative Helm

Rabbi tapped to head movement's
United Synagogue.

Bryan Schwartzman
The Jewish Exponent

Philadelphia

R

abbi Steven Wernick, reli-
gious leader of Adath Israel
in Merion Station, Pa., has
been named the next professional
leader of the United Synagogue of
Conservative Judaism, the movement's
congregational arm.
"I'm coming into this job with no
illusions about all the challenges that
exist," said Wernick, a Philadelphia
native who has led the Main Line syn-
agogue for seven years. Before that, he
spent six years at Temple Beth Sholom
in Cherry Hill, N.J.
"I still feel that United Synagogue
has something very important to say
to the Jewish world:' the rabbi said.
The news leaked out last week as
his contract was still being negotiated
and before he was able to inform his
congregation.
Wernick is slated to replace the
organization's longtime executive vice
president, Rabbi Jerome Epstein.
Wernick's selection marks the latest
in a series of key leadership changes
in the Conservative movement.
In 2007, scholar Arnold Eisen, who
also grew up in Philadelphia, replaced
Rabbi Ismar Schorsch — who was
largely viewed as a traditionalist — to
head the movement's flagship institu-
tion, the Jewish Theological Seminary,
a change that paved the way for the
admission of openly gay rabbinical
students.
Last year, Rabbi Julie Schonfeld
became the first woman picked to
lead the Rabbinical Assembly, the
movement's clerical arm. She is slated
to assume the post this summer.
The 19-member United Synagogue
search committee made its decision
within the past week, according to
movement officials.
"He really impressed us with his
level of energy and his preparedness,"
said Ray Goldstein, the lay president of
United Synagogue. "He evidently took
a congregation from a good solid base
and helped to re-energize that congre-
gation."

A50

March 19 2009

Goldstein credited Wernick with
helping to create the Conservative
movement's Leadership Council, a
regional body that brought together
the various arms of the movement.
In recent years, the movement's
leadership has engaged in serious and
sometimes bitter debate on the future
of Conservative Judaism. It has grap-
pled with such issues as the approach
to intermarriage and the place of
Jewish law in contemporary life. The
decision on ordaining gay rabbis was
among the most contentious issues.
The Conservative movement, once
the strongest stream in the United
States, has been losing ground steadily
among American Jews to the Reform
movement on the left and Orthodoxy
on the right. Some observers have
made dire predictions that the center
position might not hold.
Last week, a group of Conservative
rabbis and leaders sent a letter to
Goldstein asserting that a fundamen-
tal change of direction was needed.
Wernick brushed aside the predic-
tions of doom and gloom. At the same
time, he said one of his goals is to re-
engage the movement's core leadership
and create stronger partnerships with
synagogues that are facing difficult
economic times.
"The biggest challenge facing the
movement isn't about ideology or the-
ology," he said. "It's about re-engage-
ment, setting priorities and carrying
them out.
"Now is a great moment. We need to
work together and create an agenda."
In just a few years, Wernick helped
to revitalize Adath Israel and also
became involved in the larger com-
munity. He serves as co-chair of
the adult education committee of
the Jewish Federation of Greater
Philadelphia's Center for Jewish Life
and Learning.
At his congregation, he helped
fashion was the Tuttleman Leadership
Institute, which each year identifies
some 15 congregants who engage in
text study, leadership training and
personal growth programs. E

Bryan Schwartzman is a staff writer for

the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent.

A Coalition Deal
Jerusalem/JTA — Benjamin
Netanyahu signed a coalition agree-
ment with Yisrael Beiteinu in which
he reportedly will name Avigdor
Lieberman foreign minister.
The agreement was signed late
Sunday night, according to reports,
and gives the controversial party
the tourism, infrastructure and
immigrant absorption portfolios,
as well as the chairmanship of the
Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice
Committee.
The parties agreed that the deal
could change in the event of the forma-
tion of a unity government. Netanyahu,
the prime minister-designate, is still
negotiating with Kadima Party head
Tzipi Livni in a bid to form a broad
coalition rather than the narrow right-
wing government he has now.
Hours before the agreement was
signed, European Union foreign policy
chief Javier Solana urged Netanyahu to
form a broad coalition and threatened
to deal differently with a government
that does not commit to a two-state
solution for making peace with the
Palestinians.
"We will be ready to do business as
usual, normally with a government
in Israel that is prepared to continue
talking and working for a two-state
solution," Solana told reporters. "If that
is not the case, the situation would be
different."

Probing Campus Clashes

Toronto/JTA — One of Canada's largest
universities says it will probe recent
campus clashes relating to the Middle
East.
In a move welcomed by Jewish
students and communal leaders, York
University announced Monday that it
will form a task force to review con-
cerns about the student environment
on campus.
Jewish students have complained of
a toxic atmosphere on campus arising
from Israel's recent military incursion
in the Gaza Strip.
On Feb. 11, about 100 anti-Israel
protesters barricaded Jewish students
in a Hillel lounge and shouted anti-
Semitic and anti-Israel slurs.
Police were forced to escort Jewish
students from the lounge to ensure
their safety.
Other anti-Semitic incidents,
including graffiti and verbal attacks,
continue to be reported on campus.
"We are pleased that the university
has taken into account the deep con-

cerns expressed by our community:'
said David Koschitzky, chair of the
UJA Federation of Greater Toronto.

Liberal European Jewry?
Berlin/JTA — European Jewish leaders
believe that conversion, intermarriage
and communal membership should be
dealt with more liberally, a new study
finds.
In a survey of 251 Jewish leaders in
Europe conducted last fall, 85 percent
of respondents felt it was not a good
idea to strongly oppose intermarriage
and bar intermarried Jews and their
spouses from communal member-
ship.
Most European Jewish communities
now allow only those with a Jewish ---;1"
mother or an Orthodox conversion to
be counted.
The results of the pan-European
survey, which was sponsored by the
American Jewish Joint Distribution
Committee's International Centre
for Community Development, were
released Sunday by the JDC. The
Gallup Europe survey included
respondents from 31 countries.
In more survey results, fewer than
27 percent of respondents felt that only
those who were born to a Jewish moth-
er or who have undergone an Orthodox
conversion should be allowed to
become a member of the community.
Even among those describing
themselves as Orthodox or Modern
Orthodox, 43 percent believed that
those who have undergone conver-
sion under rabbinic supervision
from any denomination should be
allowed to join. Similarly, 46 percent
of Orthodox respondents agreed
that one Jewish parent was enough
to justify membership in communal
organizations.
While many younger Jewish lead-
ers expressed pessimism about
Jewish life in Europe, the vast major-
ity of all respondents agreed that
Europe is a safe place for Jews to live,
with only 15 percent of those under
40 and 5 percent of those over 55
disagreeing.
Supporting Israel was the third
highest priority among respondents,
but nearly half said they were some-
times ashamed by the actions of the
Israeli government. Also, about 75
percent agreed at least somewhat that
events in Israel sometimes led to an
increase of anti-Semitism in their
countries. Respondents, however,
expressed strong support for Israel
overall.