NEW YORK, Dec. 30, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The leaders of the Reform rabbinate, the world's largest group of Jewish clergy, have issued a statement decrying curtailments of religious liberty in both Switzerland and Israel - and have renewed their call for religious liberty advances during 2010.
The statement from the leadership of the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR), which represents approximately 1800 Reform rabbis around the world, condemns the Swiss electorate's banning the construction of minarets in that country, as well as attacks by ultra-Orthodox Jews against Jewish women's right to worship at the Western Wall in Jerusalem.
"We have been shocked by attacks on religious liberty in both Switzerland and our own Jewish State of Israel," the statement says. The action in Switzerland against Muslims recalls "centuries when European powers prohibited the building of synagogues...We do 'remember the heart of the stranger, for we have been strangers in the land(s) of' Europe..." In terms of women and the Western Wall in Jerusalem, the statement says, "We deplore the arrest of Nofrat Frankel for the 'crime' of seeking to read Torah, wearing a tallit, at Judaism's holiest shrine. We note that hundreds of members of the CCAR commit a similar 'crime' regularly...The tightening ultra-Orthodox stranglehold on the Western Wall must come to an end."
To arrange a conversation with Rabbi Ellen Weinberg Dreyfus, President of the CCAR, or Rabbi Steven A. Fox, Executive Vice President, please contact Katarina Wenk-Bodenmiller of Sommerfield Communications at 212-255-8386 or Katarina@sommerfield.com.
Following is the full text of the statement from the CCAR leaders.
Leaders of Reform Rabbinate Renew Call for
Religious Liberty Advances in 2010
Rabbis Address Plights of Israeli Women, Swiss Muslims
The Central Conference of American Rabbis has long stood for religious liberty throughout the world. Religious equality for men and women in Judaism has been a priority since Reform Judaism's earliest days.
Most recently, we have been shocked by attacks on religious liberty in both Switzerland and our own Jewish State of Israel. As we approach the secular new year, we hope that 2010 will see no further erosions of religious freedom but will be a year of liberty for men and women of all religions everywhere.
Recalling centuries when European powers prohibited the building of synagogues, the electorate in Switzerland has banned the construction of minarets in that country. We do "remember the heart of the stranger, for we have been strangers in the land(s) of" Europe. We know the long-term consequences of religious intolerance. We cannot stand silent while any people's religious liberty is denied.
Recent attacks on women's right to worship at the Western Wall in Jerusalem hit even closer to home. Members of the CCAR have worshiped with Women of the Wall from the inception of that movement. We deplore the arrest of Nofrat Frankel for the "crime" of seeking to read Torah, wearing a tallit, at Judaism's holiest shrine. We note that hundreds of members of the CCAR commit a similar "crime" regularly.
The tightening ultra-Orthodox stranglehold on the Western Wall must come to an end. Most recently, as Women of the Wall retreated to Robinson's Arch to read from the Torah, ultra-Orthodox protestors pelted them with potatoes and hurled epithets, calling them "Nazis." The ultra-Orthodox custodians of the Western Wall have shown their true colors, which should make clear to Israeli leadership and the entire world that the Wall's appointed guardians are prohibiting, rather than protecting, worship, study, and the performance of God's commandments. Ultra-Orthodox hegemony at the Western Wall must end now, with equal rights accorded to all.
Religious Liberty is a basic right of humanity. Whether in Switzerland or in Israel, the United States or Canada, or any place on Earth - whether for Jews or Muslims or Christians or people of any religion or none - the Central Conference of American Rabbis, the world's largest organization of Jewish clergy, will not remain silent when religious freedom is denied, not in 2010, not ever.
Rabbi Ellen Weinberg Dreyfus Rabbi Steven A. Fox
President Executive Vice-President
Central Conference of American Rabbis
About the Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR)
The CCAR, founded in 1889, is the oldest and largest rabbinic organization in North America, today serving approximately 1800 Reform Rabbis. The CCAR's primary mission is to strengthen the Jewish community through religious, professional and personal support services to Reform Rabbis including continuing education, liturgical publications, an annual convention, regional kallot, and a rabbinical placement office.
The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) logo is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=6492