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He also takes congregants to Arab neighborhoods, stressing that education and dialogue are of prime importance. Westchester Reform has raised funds to help Reform synagogues in Israel, Rabbi Jacobs said, building a library in one and donating a Torah to another. These acts, he said, were "to concretize what it means to love Israel." Turning to Israel's controversial Conversion Bill, which is now on hold because of non-Orthodox Supreme Court Upholds State Tuition Credit plus... Take an Additional 0% Off the lowest price on any floor sample! Shop Sherwood... it's worth it. Professional Interior Designers Finest Selection of Contemporary Designer Furniture in Michigan Stunning Selection of Accessories 6644 Orchard Lake Road just S of Maple West Bloomfield 248855.1600 Mon, Thurs, Fri, Sat 11-7 Sun 12-5 Closed Tues & Wed. Sale Excludes Ekornes® Galley, American Leather and BDI. 42 April 14 • 2011 WASHINGTON (JTA) — The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a constitution- al challenge to an Arizona tuition tax credit program that benefits parochial schools, with all three Jewish justices dissenting. The court last week threw out a law- suit against the program, which pro- vides tax credits to those who donate to "school tuition organizations" that grant scholarships to private schools, including religious schools. The decision prompted the first written dissent by Jewish Supreme Court Justice Elana Kagan, who said the 5-4 ruling "threatens to eliminate all occasions for a taxpayer to contest the government's monetary support of religion." Kagan used a hypothetical case relating to Jews in her dissenting opinion, writing: "Suppose a state desires to reward Jews — by, say, $500 per year — for their religious devo- tion. Should the nature of taxpayers' concern vary if the state allows Jews to claim the aid on their tax returns, in lieu of receiving an annual stipend?" She was joined in her dissent by the other two Jewish justices, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. The Anti-Defamation League called the court's decision "a significant set- back for religious liberty in America:' "The Supreme Court has dramati- cally undercut the ability of taxpayers opposition to its attempt to give Israel's Chief Rabbinate responsibil- ity for all conversions, Jacobs said it is a sin that the Jewish people have not yet found a way to convert as many as 300,000 Russians who have been living in Israel for years. "I'd love to see a broader definition of the conversion process," he said. "If there are official [conversion courts] with narrow parameters, there should be others" with a broader definition. Each would have standards satis- factory to the different movements of Judaism, and the State of Israel would recognize them for the pur- pose of marriage. Jacobs said he "stands very com- fortably" with where the Reform movement has been regarding Israel. "Mine is not a foreign voice he said. "I have spent lots of time there and that positions me to understand the challenges and opportunities it faces. I'm in a position to strengthen that connection and to bring [Israel] to more of those in our movement and to those outside of it. I look for- ward to building on it." E to protect religion and government by intervening when government money is improperly spent:' Robert Sugarman and Abraham Foxman,ADI:s national chair and national director, said in a statement. The Orthodox Union, which sup- ports educational vouchers for paro- chial schools, applauded the decision. The OU had joined several other faith- community representatives in filing a friend-of-the-court brief in support of the constitutionality of the program. "The high court upheld school choice today:' said Nathan Diament, director of public policy for the Orthodox Union. "The principles of government respect for private choices in education and government neutrality in programs which can aid and support such private choices is a critical issue for the Orthodox Jewish community and other American faith communities:' Japanese Official Tours Field Hospital JERUSALEM (JTA) — Japanese Deputy Foreign Minister Makiko Kikuta toured the Israeli army's medical clinic in the city of Minami- Sanriko. Kikuta said that the good relation- ship between Israel and Japan will be strengthened due to the arrival of the medical delegation to help in the after- math of the earthquake and tsunami that devastated Japan in March.