AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR JUDAISM

AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR JUDAISM
AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR JUDAISM, the only American Jewish organization ever created to fight Zionism and the establishment of a Jewish state. It was founded in 1942 by a group of Reform rabbis led by Louis Wolsey to protest a resolution of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which supported the establishing of a Jewish Army in Palestine. At its inception the dissidents consisted of 36 rabbis, some of whom sought to revitalize Reform Judaism and some who sought to oppose Zionism. These rabbis were ideological anti-Zionists, and thus from its inception the Council was the most articulate anti-Zionist spokesman among American Jews. Within a year, the leadership was turned over to laymen and the organization, led by Lessing J. Rosenwald, an heir to the Sears Roebuck fortune, and Rabbi Elmer Berger, became a secular anti-Zionist pressure group. The timing of its founding was inauspicious as Jews throughout Europe were being assaulted because they were a "nation" – a race in Nazi terminology; as American Jews were just learning of the existence of Nazi death camps in what became known as the "Final Solution"; and as Zionism, which had been in decline among American Jews, was taking control of the agenda of American Jewry with the biltmore program . The Council sought without success to establish an alliance with the non-Zionist American Jewish Committee, but non-Zionism was rather different from anti-Zionism. The Council opposed the establishment of Israel and remained critical of what it calls "the Israel-Zionist domination of American Jewish life." In the formative pre-State years it did accept the Report of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry for the immigration of 100,000 Jews to Palestine, but not a Jewish state. It was allied with the American foreign policy establishment, which also opposed the concept of a Jewish state for other reasons. It primarily used the mass communications media to publicize its program. Its first president was Lessing Rosenwald. The executive vice president and chief spokesman was Rabbi Elmer Berger until his ouster in 1968. With the birth of the State of Israel, the Council sought to limit Israel's influence on Diaspora Jewry, to promote integration of Jews, and to establish institutions that were resistant to Zionism. Among its activities are a quarterly journal Issues, discontinued from November 1969, a religious education program devoid of "Zionist" influence, and a philanthropic fund separate from the standard Jewish philanthropies, which it feels are under Zionist control. By the end of 1955 the Council had established ten schools for Judaism teaching the positions of classical Reform Judaism. The Council describes its own ideology as follows: "Judaism is a religion of universal values not a nationality… nationality and religion are separate and distinct… Israel is the homeland of its own citizens only, and not of all Jews." Zionism was a philosophy of despair, without faith in the Enlightenment; it advocated the self-segregation of Jews just when they should be seeking integration. Those who belong to the Council reflect an ideological stance closely akin to some of Reform Judaism's 19th-century founders. The Council has occupied an isolated position in Jewish life in America and has often been accused of advocating the Arab anti-Israel viewpoint. It claimed 20,000 members. The Six-Day War of 1967 led several of its most prestigious lay supporters to abandon the Council for a more or less active participation in efforts to aid Israel. It was one thing to oppose Israel; it was quite another to stand aside as Jews were under attack. Most of the Reform congregations organized under its influence have since denied identification with its viewpoint. In the words of Thomas Kolsky: "In the end the Council failed … the organization became neither a focus for the revival of the classical version of Reform Judaism nor an effective force for fighting Zionism and preventing the establishment of a Jewish state." -BIBLIOGRAPHY: American Council for Judaism, Formal Policy Statements, 1959–1963 (1963); idem, Information Bulletin 1943–1947; idem, Statement of Views (1943); E. Berger, Jewish Dilemma (1945–19462); idem, Judaism or Jewish Nationalism; the Alternative to Zionism (1957). ADD. BIBLIOGRAPHY: T.A. Kolsky, Jews Against Zionism: The American Council for Judaism 1942–1948 (1990). (Frank N. Sundheim / Michael Berenbaum (2nd ed.)

Encyclopedia Judaica. 1971.

Игры ⚽ Нужно сделать НИР?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • JUDAISM — JUDAISM, the religion, philosophy, and way of life of the Jews. DEFINITION The term Judaism is first found among the Greek speaking Jews of the first century C.E. (Judaismes, see II Macc. 2:21; 8:1; 14:38; Gal. 1:13–14). Its Hebrew equivalent,… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • AMERICAN JEWISH ARCHIVES (AJA) — AMERICAN JEWISH ARCHIVES (AJA), archives founded in 1947 by the historian Jacob Rader Marcus (1896–1995) on the Cincinnati campus of the Hebrew Union College Jewish Institute of Religion. Marcus established the AJA in the aftermath of the… …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Judaism — /jooh dee iz euhm, day , deuh /, n. 1. the monotheistic religion of the Jews, having its ethical, ceremonial, and legal foundation in the precepts of the Old Testament and in the teachings and commentaries of the rabbis as found chiefly in the… …   Universalium

  • Jewish Council for Public Affairs — JCPA logo The Jewish Council for Public Affairs (JCPA) is an American Jewish non profit organization that deals with community relations. It is a coordinating round table organization of 14 other national Jewish organizations (the National Member …   Wikipedia

  • American Jewish University — Motto The American Jewish University of Tomorrow Established 1947 Type Pr …   Wikipedia

  • Reform Judaism (North America) — Reform Judaism is the largest denomination of American Jews today. [Bob Abernathy, [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/religionandethics/week238/cover.html Reform Judaism ] , Public Broadcasting Service, May 1999.] [Matthew Wagner and Greer Fay Cashman,… …   Wikipedia

  • American Family Association — Formation 1977 by Rev. Donald Wildmon Type Christian right organization Headquarters Tupelo, Miss …   Wikipedia

  • AMERICAN JEWISH CONGRESS (AJCongress) — AMERICAN JEWISH CONGRESS (AJCongress), one of the central agencies in American Jewish community relations. The origins of the American Jewish Congress, founded in 1918, provide an important lesson in the dynamics of American Jewry. The AJCongress …   Encyclopedia of Judaism

  • Committee for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land — The Committee for Justice and Peace in the Holy Land, was an organization founded in February, 1948 by Virginia Gildersleeve and Kermit Roosevelt, Jr. for the purpose of lobbying the Truman administration to oppose the creation of the state of… …   Wikipedia

  • Council of Christians and Jews — The Council of Christians and Jews, or CCJ, is a voluntary organisation in the United Kingdom. It is composed of Christians and Jews working together to counter anti semitism and other forms of intolerance in Britain. Their patron is Queen… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”