Resolution Adopted by the CCAR

Black-Jewish Relations

Adopted by the CCAR at the 96th Annual Convention of

the Central Conference of American Rabbis

1985

Torah posits the common ancestry of all humanity; the Prophets remind us that all

people are related by a common ancestry. And the lessons of history have taught us

that minority groups within a society can only flourish in an atmosphere of freedom

and equality.        

Recent years have seen the weakening of the once strong relations between Blacks and

Jews. Certain domestic and foreign issues have stymied attempts to speak with one

voice.        

While we recognize the legitimacy of disagreement, still we are committed to the continued

seeking of common avenues and shared responses to mutual concerns.

Therefore be it resolved

that the CCAR:

1. reaffirm its long-standing support of solidarity and dialogue with the Black community,

even when divided over specific issues;

2. continue its efforts to work together with like-minded Black organizations, and

encourage dialogue through such programs as the Kivie Kaplan Institute;

3. commend those congregations and organizations that have already begun such dialogue;

reaffirm the necessity to implement programs of affirmative action to ensure places

in higher education and in business and professions for Blacks and members of other

minority groups; and

4. condemn governmental policies that weaken support for programs which have aided

Black people to train for employment or obtain quality medical and legal services.

Resolution Adopted by the CCAR

Jewish Parenting Centers and Nursery Schools

Adopted by the CCAR at the 96th Annual Convention of

the Central Conference of American Rabbis

1985

Whereas

the Joint UAHC-CCAR Commission on Jewish Education, through its National Curriculum

Project, has provided learners with a lifelong and systematic strategy for fulfilling

the goals of Reform Jewish education, and

Whereas

the infant and toddler stages in growth and development, culminating in the early

childhood years (21/2-5) provide an unparalleled setting for an individual’s acquisition of identity development

skills, and

Whereas

the involvement of parents in Jewish education establishes the process of Jewish

life activities as an extension of family nurturance and valuing, and

Whereas

the UAHC Department of Education offers consultation, orientation, and program development

models related to the establishment of Jewish Parenting Centers for infants and toddlers,

as well as a published set of Guidelines

for pre-school teachers and parents, and

Whereas

the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods has nurtured and supported early childhood

programs and is the co-sponsor of PATT (Parents are Teachers Too) for parents of

pre-school children, and

Whereas

experience has shown that Jewish Parenting Centers and Nursery Schools enhance family

synagogue affiliation and Jewish identification,

Be it therefore resolved

that we call upon all UAHC congregations to promote Jewish educational and experiential

programs for adults preparing for parenthood, new parents, and children from infancy

to age five; and we call upon all member congregations to establish Jewish Parenting Centers and Reform Jewish Nursery Schools in conjunction with the National Curriculum

Project.

Resolution Adopted by the CCAR

UJA and Israel Bonds

Adopted by the CCAR at the 96th Annual Convention of

the Central Conference of American Rabbis

1985

The ongoing campaigns of the United Jewish Appeal, the State of Israel Bonds Program,

and similar organizations are vital to the welfare of the State of Israel. The funds

provided by North American Jewry are an essential element for the support of the

human service needs of Israel and, in the case of Israel Bonds, represent a vital investment

in that country’s economic infrastructure. Such actions are tangible indications

of our concern for the State of Israel, and we call upon our colleagues to become

more visibly active in such campaigns.

Resolution Adopted by the CCAR

Enhancing the Congregant’s Israel Awareness

Adopted by the CCAR at the 96th Annual Convention of

the Central Conference of American Rabbis

1985

We call upon the Conference to continue to act in close coordination with ARZA, NFTY,

KADIMA, and WUPJ, and to intensify our movement”s involvement in Israel-oriented

activities. Acknowledging the beneficial impact of the UAHC’s short-term and long-term

programs, we commit ourselves to an active campaign of recruitment of participants from

among our high school and college students. We further commit ourselves to continue

to work locally and regionally so as to establish effective programs for the more

than 1,000 Chozrei Tochniyot

who reenter our congregations. They are an invaluable resource in the strengthening

of North American Jewish life.

Resolution Adopted by the CCAR

World Hunger

Adopted by the CCAR at the 96th Annual Convention of

the Central Conference of American Rabbis

1985

Whereas

the stark tragedy of starvation and death that has plagued our world, and especially,

in recent months, the victims of drought in North African nations has appalled and

grieved us, and

Whereas

we are cognizant of this desperate situation,

Be it therefore resolved

that we commend the outstanding work of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations,

the Social Action Commission of the UAHC and the CCAR, the Joint Distribution Committee,

and the State of Israel in seeking to ameliorate the suffering of all Ethiopians,

and particularly that of Ethiopian Jews.

Be it further resolved

that the CCAR pledge its continued support of those agencies and institutions that

seek to eliminate hunger and want throughout the world. We further pledge to encourage

the use of the resources of our congregations for preservation of life, and the distribution of stored grain and other foodstuffs available in our country and in other

more affluent nations to the impoverished peoples of North Africa.

Resolution Adopted by the CCAR

Table-Grape Boycott

Adopted by the CCAR at the 96th Annual Convention of

the Central Conference of American Rabbis

1985

Whereas

the CCAR has supported the rights of farm workers since 1942; and

Whereas

the CCAR has specifically supported the efforts of the United Farm Workers since

1973;

Whereas

the United Farm Workers have now called for a renewal of the non-union table grape

boycott due to the unilateral renunciation by the growers of previous accords made

with the workers, and the undermining of the Agricultural Labor Relations Board by

Governor Deukmejian,

Be it resolved

that the CCAR urge its members and their congregations and organizations to support

the boycott until the workers are accorded all rights and benefits to which they

are entitled.

Resolution Adopted by the CCAR

Honoring Righteous Gentiles

Adopted by the CCAR at the 96th Annual Convention of

the Central Conference of American Rabbis

1985

Forty years after the armistice, it is our concern that future generations learn and

take courage from those who inspire us still. We still cannot forget the trauma that

is associated with World War Il. Millions of soldiers and civilians lost their lives,

were wounded and maimed as the conflict emerged out of the core of Europe to rage

east and west; the cities, the countryside, the economy were devastated. Forty years

after the fact, a new generation has grown to responsible maturity.        

As Jews, we remember the war years with added hurt. Six million of our own, including

one and a half million children, experienced death al kiddush haShem

. These figures are not usually added to the total of destroyed human beings who suffered

from 1939 to 1945. We suffered then and died then, alone. The world turned a deaf

ear and projected a silent voice so as to cover their embarrassment as the ideals

and themes of Christian faith became subservient to the nationalist fervor of governments

and to man’s depravity.        

But there were instances, although too rare, where the image of God in human beings

stood outside the realm of the ordinary, to speak with dignity and courage. We recall

the actions of the Gentiles who, instead of suffering Jews, saw the frail and beaten

human being; the righteous Gentiles stooped to pick up the fallen, fed the hungry,

clothed the naked, and with their own bodies and resourcefulness of spirit, protected

those of Jewish faith who were in need. We acknowledge their heroism from the Dock

Strikers’ action in Holland to the courage of the King of Denmark and his citizens, to

the individual actions of Raoul Wallenberg.

Therefore be it resolved

that we express our gratitude to those Christian neighbors and friends who alone

knew the terror in their hearts but who braved the duty of humanity’s responsibility

to one another.

Be it further resolved

that these “Righteous Gentiles” have earned their places in the specially designed

garden at Yad vaShem

in Jerusalem; they have inscribed their deeds in our hearts and in the annals of

history.

Resolution Adopted by the CCAR

Louis Finkelstein and Salo W. Baron

Adopted by the CCAR at the 96th Annual Convention of

the Central Conference of American Rabbis

1985

This year marks the ninetieth birthday of two outstanding Jewish scholars.

Louis Finkelstein

has been both a creative student of Rabbinic Judaism and for many years the leading

figure in the American Conservative movement. His early Jewish Self-Government in the Middle Ages

displayed remarkable breadth of erudition and provided a new understanding of the

takanot

promulgated by medieval rabbis. His later studies of Rabbi Akiba and of the Pharisees

first brought the new perspectives of social and economic history tellingly to bear

upon familiar religious subjects. As president and then chancellor of the Jewish

Theological Seminary, Louis Finkelstein directed the rabbinical education of a generation

of our colleagues and gave new prominence to our sister progressive movement.

Salo Wittmayer Baron

belongs to that small company of Jewish historians who have contributed to the study

of Jewish history in virtually every phase of its long course. Going beyond Graetz

and Dubnow in his understanding of the interplay between social and religious factors

in Judaism, his still-appearing multi-volume history embraces and exemplifies the remarkable

increase of our knowledge during the last generation. Brought to the United States

by Stephen S. Wise, and for a time librarian and professor at the Jewish Institute of Religion, Salo Baron went on to Columbia University, where he raised up a company

of talented disciples. Beyond scholarship and teaching, in various organizational

and editorial capacities, Salo Baron has also actively propagated and advanced the

expansion and deepening of Jewish studies in America.

Be it therefore resolved

that the Central Conference of American Rabbis pay tribute to these scholars and

to their achievements. On the occasion of a milestone in their lives, it sends them

this expression of high regard and of appreciation for enriching our Jewish lives.

Resolution Adopted by the CCAR

Ethiopian Jewry and World Hunger

Adopted by the CCAR at the 96th Annual Convention of

the Central Conference of American Rabbis

1985

Whereas

“Operation Moses” has served to heighten our awareness of the dire situation of our

Ethiopian co-religionists remaining in Ethiopia and in refugee areas. and

Whereas

even before the establishment of the State of Israel, the Jewish people’s priority

has been to return Diaspora Jews in peril to the Jewish homeland,

Therefore be it resolved

that the CCAR urge its members, UAHC constituent congregations, and all other Jewish

organizations to continue to support all rescue efforts aimed at saving these Jews

from starvation and persecution by bringing them to Israel. These efforts include

the Joint Distribution Committee’s food station at Gondar Province and the mitzvah

projects of the UAHC and the congregational or family reunification program of the

AAEJ. We further urge all congregations and Jewish organizations to give priority

to this effort in the coming months.

Be it further resolved

that we look to Israel to continue to facilitate its urgent and noble rescue of all

Ethiopian Jews. We commend Israel, Prime Minister Peres, and former Prime Minister

Begin for their efforts to fulfill the mitzvah

of “redeeming captives,” a matter of tzedaka

.

Be it further resolved

that we urge support of the long and difficult task of resettlement and acculturation

of this “saving remnant.”

Resolution Adopted by the CCAR

Jewish Parenting Centers and Nursery Schools

Adopted by the CCAR at the 96th Annual Convention of

the Central Conference of American Rabbis

1985

Whereas

the Joint UAHC-CCAR Commission on Jewish Education, through its National Curriculum

Project, has provided learners with a lifelong and systematic strategy for fulfilling

the goals of Reform Jewish education, and

Whereas

the infant and toddler stages in growth and development, culminating in the early

childhood years (21/2-5) provide an unparalleled setting for an individual’s acquisition of identity development

skills, and

Whereas

the involvement of parents in Jewish education establishes the process of Jewish

life activities as an extension of family nurturance and valuing, and

Whereas

the UAHC Department of Education offers consultation, orientation, and program development

models related to the establishment of Jewish Parenting Centers for infants and toddlers,

as well as a published set of Guidelines

for pre-school teachers and parents, and

Whereas

the National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods has nurtured and supported early childhood

programs and is the co-sponsor of PATT (Parents are Teachers Too) for parents of

pre-school children, and

Whereas

experience has shown that Jewish Parenting Centers and Nursery Schools enhance family

synagogue affiliation and Jewish identification,

Be it therefore resolved

that we call upon all UAHC congregations to promote Jewish educational and experiential

programs for adults preparing for parenthood, new parents, and children from infancy

to age five; and we call upon all member congregations to establish Jewish Parenting Centers and Reform Jewish Nursery Schools in conjunction with the National Curriculum

Project.