JACQUES TORCZYNER
JACQUES TORCZYNER GUEST COLUMNIST Who speaks for American Jews? Now is the time to elect a National Assembly of the Jewish People. ho speaks for American Jews? Is it the leaders of the American...
...In order to be eligible a list from each region should be presented with a minimum of signatures, the number being determined by the central election committee...
...The first met in 1918 after the Balfour Declaration...
...Or is it the White House invitees selected by the President who meet with him to discuss our problems...
...The Conference of Presidents, however well-intentioned its leadership, falls short of the mark, and this justifies the call for a National Jewish Assembly in the United States...
...lists could be based on political beliefs, religious affiliations or other criteria...
...The Assembly should meet every four years, the administrative board every six months and the executive on an ongoing basis in order to be available to deal with current matters...
...The Assembly committees would coordinate the efforts of organizations whose membership participates in the Assembly, not take their place...
...Its weakness has been its modus operandi...
...establishing inter-religious links with the Vatican, the World Council of Churches and other groups...
...The idea should be discussed at their conventions and studied at the General Assembly of the Council of Jewish Federations (CJF) when it meets in Montreal in November 1993...
...The time for a democratically elected American Jewish Assembly is now!® Jacques Torczyner is a member of the World Zionist Organization executive, Jm merpresident and now Iwnoiary president of the Zionist Oiganizalion of America...
...Similar assemblies have been elected twice before...
...Wc must make the mass media understand that there is a Jewish majority that cannot remain silent or be displaced by opportunists and unelectcd spokespersons...
...The American Jewish community is facing the crisis of an uncertain future...
...every member of a nationally recognized Jewish organization...
...But it has also cooperated on relevant issues centering on Soviet Jews, Ethiopian Jews and other Jewries in distress...
...Would opposition and contention be part of the National Jewish Assembly mix...
...On the contrary, if we institutionalize democratic leadership and a kind of universal suffrage amongjews, we can only be adding to the diversity, though we hope in the end to speak on most issues with a unified clarion call...
...Its current influence is on the decline...
...Worse yet, for the first time in the history of American administrations, the Bush-Baker team encouraged separate visits by some organizations in an attempt to divide the Jewish community...
...The functions of these committees would include: relating to the administration in Washington...
...the second met after reports of Hitler's early implementation of the Final Solution...
...Its effectiveness has also been weakened by some Jewish organizations visiting the White House or the State Department or a foreign leader...
...Both were organized at the initiative of the Zionist movement...
...Is it the leaders of the American Jewish Congress who on private visits to Saudi Arabia conduct their own diplomatic maneuvers with no accountability to anyone...
...relating to the government of Israel...
...The State of Israel is hounded by enemies on all sides...
...Those who may vote for delegates will be every member of a congregation— Orthodox, Conservative, Reconstruc-tionist or Reform...
...This idea will doubtless be opposed by vested interests fearful of the democratization of the American Jewish community...
...Presidents of some large Jewish organizations have already indicated their support of this idea...
...Perhaps readers of MOMENT will join the effort to bring the concept to birth...
...Or is it some other self-proclaimed group of vague or minute constituency...
...But these interests cannot close their eyes to the palpable gains promised by such democratization: greater participation in Jewish life by currently disaffected youth, a probable increase in the number of contributors to the main fund-raising campaigns, and certainly more political clout in the corridors of power...
...The Assembly should have no more than 500 delegates, with an administrative board of about 100 and an executive of 25...
...I should hope so...
...Election to the Assembly would be based on proportional representation...
...Antisemitism is on the rise all over the world...
...To spur this effort, I will propose some specifics: •Delegates to the American National Jewish Assembly will be elected by active American Jews...
...Founded in 1954 by Dr...
...The Conference of Presidents has not been able to function except by consensus politics—which means that its decisions must always conform to the lowest common denominator in its midst, that is, those who consistently call for the weakest response to a problem or provocation...
...Nahum Goldmann, it has traditionally restricted itself to problems directly concerned with relations between the United States and Israel...
...monitoring fund-raising for local needs and overseas campaigns, supported by the United Jewish Appeal and the Joint Distribution Committee...
...The philosophies of partisans of intellectual journals like MOMENT, Midstteam, Tikkun, Commentary and others with even more disparate shades and nuances of opinion, must be respected and supported...
...improving relations with other minorities—African American, Hispanic, Native American, Mexican American, Asian, etc...
...Their help would be invaluable in forming an organizing committee...
...We do not seek uniformity in Jewish life...
...every'contributor of $10 or more to the local welfare fund...
...There would be a variety of lists...
...coordinating anti-defamation policy...
...Since the creation of the State of Israel, American Jewry has tried to form a representative body...
...The best known and most effective has been the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations...
...Committees would be the working arms of the Assembly...
...Minority or splinter groups of self-appointed individuals may still appeal to the mass media, meet amicably with terrorists, push a political agenda—but not in the guise of speaking for all Jewish people...
...Assimilation and loss of Jewish identity are rampant...
...We are children of democracy—both by Jewish biblical tradition and by adherence to the ideals of our country here in America...
...This formula is not meant to squelch dissidents or to impose blind uniformity...
...Now more than ever is the time to elect a National Assembly of the Jewish People of the United States, who will truly represent us and speak for us...
...The relationship between Israel and world Jewry led by the American Jewish community is in dire need of re-evaluation, clarification and passionate reaffirmation...
...The future of East European Jewry is in jeopardy...
...The country would be divided into several regions with the number of delegates allocated to each region based on its Jewish population...
Vol. 18 • February 1993 • No. 1
