Taken from the Jewish Chronicle, October 2004.
Multimillionaire and community
leader Edgar bromfman on re assessment of the attitude
to inter-marriage.
Edgar Bronfman is probably the best known Jewish leader
in the world, he is president of the world Jewish congress,
and Hillel International, on who's behalf he was in London
last week. In 1999 us president bill Clinton awarded Bronfman
the presidential Medal of Freedom, America's top civilian
honour.
Bronfman is concerned to improve the Jewish knowledge
of secular Jews to keep them Jewish. He feels that if
young people want to inter-marry then both the Jewish
and the non-Jewish should learn about Judaism. Hillel,
says Bronfman wants to serve all Jews, so we want to appeal
to secular Jews too. The great secret of Jewish survival
is Jewish pride. And the secret of Jewish pride is Jewish
knowledge. Bronfman believes Hillel offers the last chance
to capture young Jews and keep them Jewish. He is also
trying to get to Jewish teens, before they get to university.
"If you tell American Jews we are in crisis, they
will look at you and laugh, but there is a crisis, its
too easy to choose not to be Jewish. Its time to abandon
racist ideas and encourage inter marriage couples to raise
their children as fully accepted Jews. The whole concept
of Jewish peoplehood and the lines being pure begins to
sound a little like Nazism (meaning racist). The current
communal attitude is dated, today we can make an attempt
to double the amount of Jews that there are, or we can
irritate everybody who's inter married and loose them
all. I think we have to become welcoming because now we
are rather stiff-necked. I don’t think its necessary
for the other partner to convert as long as they bring
up their children as Jewish. Sometimes, conversion could
come with time. The rabbi who refuses to marry such couples
is turning people off".
Dear Mr. Bronfman
I write in support of your ideas about inter-marriage.
Infect, I go further and say, that Jews Christians and
Muslims are religiously equal. I keep asking our rabbis,
do Christians worship the same god that we do? And they
all say "yes". Do Muslims worship the same god
as we do? And they all say "yes".
Judaism is not a proselytising religion - not anymore
anyway. The ambition and aim of Judaism is to bring the
whole world to the knowledge and worship of the One True
God (the god of Israel). The majority of mankind already
do so, and all 3 religions should now go forward hand
in hand to bring the rest of mankind into the fold.
The question of inter-marriage is the correct way to
go forward.
Kind regards and best wishes
Naim Dangoor, Exilarch
