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The Hartman report is primarily a defensive strategy for leaders. Indeed, a noble effort, the White Paper is designed to provide our rabbis and communal professionals with the resources and supports essential for “leadering.” The authors are seeking to empower Jewish leaders in ways that can enhance their leadership performance, while seeking to defuse the tenor and intensity of the personal and institutional attacks that today mark the landscape of our community. Each of the scenarios introduced in the appendix sections of this report deal with one of the various intractable arenas that today defines the state of Jewish discourse.

We are living with new realities. Each of these challenging and unsettling conditions is accompanied by a set of questions. Whether we are speaking about American democracy and anti-Semitism, the idea of “community,” the State of Israel, or the meaning of Judaism in the 21st century, we are living through a disruptive and complex moment in our Jewish journey. In this season of Elul, as part of our personal and collective reflections, may we also consider these compelling issues. Items 1 through 4 address different aspects of anti-Semitism: 1. We held to the proposition that America was different from any previous Diaspora experience for Jews.

At a time of increased social tension within our society and with a documented rise in anti-Semitic behavior, our national agencies and local JCRC’s will be challenged to represent the interests of our community. Elsewhere, I have written about the principles that undergird this field and now must be in the forefront of community relations planning.[1] Revisiting the Past: We are reminded that the first principle of Jewish community relations involved a commitment to Jewish security. In the early decades of its work, the CR field centered its activities on “prejudice reduction.” In order to achieve such an outcome in the 1930s, a series of educational initiatives were introduced targeting churches, schools, civic organizations, and business and labor groups in fostering intergroup understanding. In keeping with its core mandate, the field focused its attention to...

Tisha b’Av is a frame of reference, recalling moments of Jewish destruction and despair. There are rhythms to those seasons in which we mourn our collective as well as personal losses. The feeling tones of how we confront life and death were introduced in both our liturgy and Jewish texts. Our rabbis provided us with a language to mourn as well as to reflect. Just as these days set aside in the Jewish calendar allow us to mourn, they also remind us of the possibilities for creativity and reinvention. While civilizations need to account for those dark chapters, societies also must extract creative moments that have redefined their stories from their historical journeys. During these hours of fasting, a minority community can ill afford to exclusively focus on its vulnerabilities, as it must constantly address its present and future state, and its ability to rise above its fears and losses to again become actors in history.

On August 10, 1999, an avowed white supremacist walked into the North Valley Jewish Community Center in Granada Hills and began a shooting spree he wanted to serve as “a wakeup call to America to kill Jews.” Choosing the location for its light security, he injured five people at the center and murdered a postal service worker of Filipino origin. The horrific episode sent shivers coursing through Los Angeles’ Jewish communities — and prompted them to bolster their security systems. Soon thereafter, most San Fernando Valley synagogues had security checks at their entrance. Some hired armed guards.

In connection with President Trump’s recent tweets referencing the four Democratic Congressional members, one could identify a wide array of reactions on the part Jewish organizations and prominent Jewish Americans from both political parties. What is propelling such diversity of responses? The striving to be “American” drives both Jewish Democrats and Republicans to fully embrace their parties’ labels and expectations. The assimilation of Jews into this society can be best demonstrated by their intense engagement with politics that today defines our community. This “full inclusion” is reflected in the desire of Jews to be seen as...

As we observe July 4th and pay tribute to our nation on its 233rd anniversary, this moment affords us an opportunity to identify those sustaining and unique values that define our country. From its founding, Jewish Americans have had a unique connection with this republic, as it has been a welcoming, creative and sustaining home for our community. What beliefs underlie the thriving relationship that Jews have with the American story? A year ago, in connection with this national holiday, this writer laid out twelve principles that provided a framework for understanding the uniqueness of this experiment with democracy.[1] The ten themes introduced here build off of those values.

In connection with the blog introduced by my colleague and friend, Rabbi Mark Diamond, referencing the dialogue between Latter-day Saints (a.k.a. Mormons) and Jewish scholars, recently completed in Israel, such conversations serve to identify our commonalities of interests as well as note the areas of our differences. In this second reflection in connection with our gathering, I want to give specific emphasis to the place of anti-Semitism in the Jewish historical consciousness and its contemporary meaning for both Latter-day Saints and Jews. In planning any discussions around faith and community, by necessity Jews need to reference the history of anti-Semitism as well as its contemporary impact. While the Church of Latter-day Saints is a relatively new American faith tradition...

As citizens Jews have a profound interest in and connection with the welfare of this society. More directly, Jewish policy makers will need to pay attention to the emerging data that is now coming online as demographic trends and social and political realities are fundamentally reshaping this nation and its character. What are the important markers that the Jewish community should be actively monitoring, and what role can the Jewish community play in educating and preparing its constituencies as well as the larger society for these fundamental cultural and economic shifts?

It’s no secret that significant demographic, economic and social changes are taking place in California. These include: an “out migration” as more middle-class Californians are leaving the state; the aging of the state’s population and the corresponding expected decline in the number of school-age children; and overpriced housing as well as a high tax structure, both serving as disincentives for new families and new businesses to enter this market. As a result, we are likely to see an aging California Jewish community, with fewer younger families and singles to support the charitable interests of the community, its institutions and synagogues. This will create significant pressures not only on governmental bodies but also on Jewish social service institutions. Meeting these accelerated needs with fewer donors will represent a major challenge to many of our communities, our synagogues and schools.