Points Of View Send letters to: letters@thejewishnews.com Contributing Editor Editorial The ilairench nnect oexistence, the noble idea of nations inviting and encouraging distinct cul- tural religious immigrant groups, is an abject failure in France. Enjoy your ethnicity and pray religiously there. Just don't do it in public. There's no room for an open display of multiculturalism. So said President Nicolas Sarkozy in a revealing interview on French television. It's an interview important to Jews and others who don't identify only as French. Free speech is part of the mainstream in this European democracy. But when the elected leader applies the notion of nation- alism to everyday life as opposed to only government policy, Western ears should perk up. It's undemo- cratic, to say the least. "If you come to France," Sarkozy told TFI,"you accept to melt into a single community, which is the national community; and if you do not want to accept that, you cannot be welcome in France." Brazenly, he went on to say the French nation- al community would not accept "a change in lifestyle" — of any pro- nounced sort. "We have been too concerned about the identity of the person who was arriving and not enough about the identity of the country that was receiving him:' Sarkozy intoned. Is Sarkozy wacky or what? Is he saying that on public streets, Jews must stop don- ning kippot, Muslims must avoid wearing hijabs and Christians President Sarkozy must cease showing crosses? Who's going to arrest the guilty: The just-one-culture cops? I don't understand Sarkozy. Jews or Muslims, in particular, aren't going to be any less French if they identify with their culture along with their nationality. We're not talking about a backwater country: France is a European pillar. It's home to 600,000 Jews, the largest anywhere outside of America and Israel. It's also home to 6.2 million Muslims, or 10 percent of France's 62 million residents. What's wrong anyway with a Jew saying,"I'm a French citizen, and proud of it; but I'm a Jew first, so why must I hide that?" Limited integration of immi- grants has fed Sarkozy's folly. Muslims comprise the largest group of French immigrants over the past 10 years; younger Muslim men emigrating from radical soci- eties have, in turn, targeted French Jews. Better integrating Muslims, religiously and secularly, would help combat French-bred extrem- ism among immigrants. Clearly, France would be wiser to promote democratic ideals than curtail legitimate freedoms. Muslim Bashinp The real target of Sarkozy's nation- alist vision came clear when he told his February TV audience, "Our Muslim compatriots must be able to practice their religion, as any citizen can',' but "we in France do not want people to pray in an ostentatious way in the street." Last year, Marine Le Pen, leader of the French far right, roused public ire for comparing Muslims praying in the streets outside overcrowded mosques to the Nazi occupation. Jews should take no solace in France's obsession with Muslims. Not only is stereotyping a people morally wrong, but an Anti- Defamation League analysis of French acts of anti-Semitism in French Connection on 25 24 March 17 • 201 Conservatively Making A Case o assure a vibrant congregational middle ground within Judaism, the Conservative movement's synagogue arm is trying to recast what it is and does through a promising new initiative. Conservative Judaism was once America's largest synagogue stream, a distinction now held by the Reform movement. The Orthodox movement also is growing as the pursuit of a bold new vision for the religious center goes on. The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) has joined with Hayom (Hebrew for "Today"): The Coalition for the Transformation of Conservative Judaism, a group of high-profile rabbis, to propose a consensus plan for the future of Conservative congre- gational life and perhaps all of Conservative Judaism. The strategic plan, more than year in development, is timely given the outcry from synagogues over their return on USCJ dues paid. Over the past nine years, member congregations have declined by 14 percent. The USCJ board approved the plan Sunday. The strategy includes leaner governance, new bylaws and new leaders. Outreach to kehillot, or sacred communities (including synagogue congre- gations), is reflective of changing American Jewish life. Each kehillah would send representatives to a General Assembly. This signals the prospect of non-synagogue Jewish religious groups, including informal Jewish prayer and learning groups, being welcome to join USCJ. Another core objective involves developing an integrated educational system for preschool through high school in collaboration with other movement arms (a smart move) and regional district councils that elect their own representatives to the USCJ board (an intriguing idea). Hayom knows the USCJ will have to team with the right organizations to actually implement the plan. More than 80 percent of the $10.5 million UCSJ budget comes from congregational dues. Lowered dues would be offset by increased philanthropy and so-called profit centers. A reshaped board would include philanthropists and thought leaders to help raise more money for USCJ operations. Promising as the plan is, questions remain: How will the USCJ deliver? Can the USCJ attract more new young families and stem the loss of current member families? How will the USCJ view key matters such as kashrut, intermarriage and Shabbat observance? We have confidence in the plan's chief advocate (Rabbi Steven Wernick, the inspired executive vice president of the USCJ) and who influenced it (a strong contingent of rabbis, lay leaders and advisers, including demographers Jacob Ukeles and Steven M. Cohen). Further, the plan is being vetted by every part of the movement. All stakeholders will have the chance to read and comment publicly on it. Too much is at stake for the plan to ultimately be a bust.