The Reform Jewish movement has a politics problem. Search the Union for Reform Judaism (URJ) website and you will find a strong left-wing stance on any issue, even when such a position might go against core Jewish values. At the 2005 URJ Biennial convention, the delegates in attendance voted overwhelmingly to formally oppose the war in Iraq. Apparently, the organizers of the convention, which was attended by thousands of Reform Jews nationwide, did not see anything wrong with inviting two speakers who were former Clinton administration cabinet members: Madeline Albright and Robert Reich!
Following the convention I drafted an email to the URJ president in response to this disappointing decision (especially considering at the 2003 Biennial they supported the war). Although my grievance was replied to promptly, it nevertheless lacked a very satisfactory explanation.
The left-wing politics that dominates the culture of the Reform Movement exists at the local level as well. A few years ago, my synagogue organized a trip to Washington D.C. to join Hillary Clinton and other celebrities to rally in support of abortion rights. Last year, Al Gore’s An Inconvenient Truth movie was shown to our high school students, followed by a discussion led by a rep from Greenpeace. And just this week, our students were given a presentation by an anti-death penalty activist whose car was emblazoned with every left-wing bumper sticker imaginable. This speaker, I was told by right-leaning teens who were in attendance, were told that if they themselves couldn’t pull the lever [to the electric chair], then they had no business being pro-death penalty. (I wonder if this activist, who was more likely than not pro-abortion, would be able to personally puncture an unborn baby’s skull, suck its brains out and toss its tiny limp remains into the trash can. If not, then he has no business being pro-abortion.)
Messages with overt left-wing overtones abound on the pulpit as well. Our rabbi, whom I love dearly and consider a mentor and friend, regularly fills sermons and monthly newsletter articles with such messages.
Legal ramifications aside—Houses of worship are tax-exempt as long as they don’t endorse specific candidates; this is a line constantly in danger of being crossed—I am certain the Reform Movement will end up losing many of its members who don’t toe the party line. If the movement is supposedly so liberal (in the literal sense) and open-minded, then why does our small contingent of right-thinking members constantly feel disenfranchised and why are our perspectives constantly dismissed?
Just yesterday I wrote a post featuring Jewish commentator Dennis Prager and endorsing his radio show. Well, today I got up the courage to call into Dennis’s show and ask him what we, right-leaning Reform Jews, can do about this frustrating situation. Here’s the clip below. How did I do???
Download 2007_11_16_ek_talks_to_dennis.mp3
UPDATE: The anti-death penalty display remained in my synagogue’s main lobby for weeks following the presentation of the activist mentioned above. I decided, therefore, to withdraw my family’s membership from the synagogue. In the greater scheme of things it won’t change anything, but I just could no longer in good conscience keep paying dues to this institution.
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