Some Articles that Caught My Interest...

I logged in to the Los Angeles Jewish Journal today and found two articles that really caught my interest, so I thought I'd share. Click the titles for full article. The first one leaves me at a loss for words. It sounds to me like something close to either recruitment because of the fear of a dying group; or possibly forced conversions if a parent sends a kid to a particular school. Read more below.

Conservative Jews Gather at Crossroads

"How should Conservative Judaism cope with dwindling membership, growing intermarriage rates and society’s increasing religious and political polarity, while remaining true to its base in halachah (Jewish law)?"

"The challenge comes as Conservative Judaism, which once set the agenda for American Jewry, has lost its numeric edge, dropping from 43 percent of affiliated Jews in 1990 to 33 percent in 2000, according to the two latest National Jewish Population Surveys. Conservative Jews are older as a group than the Reform or Orthodox, yet they hold most of the key positions in Jewish communal leadership, contributing to the aging of that leadership."

"The Conservatives are broadening their embrace of the intermarried just two weeks after Reform leader Rabbi Eric Yoffie proposed at that movement’s biennial that Reform congregations ask non-Jewish spouses to consider conversion."

"The Swastika in My Binder"

"I do not know who drew the swastika in my planner. I do not know why. I choose to believe that it was done by a bored kid, looking to vandalize someone else’s forgotten things, that it is harmless."

"And I choose to forget about the swastika."

"My issue is not that it’s written, but why. Who did it? Did they know? Know that I am Jewish? And if so, how? Because I am an officer of the campus Jewish club? Because I wear shirts from my Jewish camp? Because I have a Jewish star around my neck?"

"I remember by talking about this to my English class, and now they too are outraged. I remember by turning my planner in to the administration, so they can find and deal with the hateful vandal."

"I remember by taking notice of all of the hateful things I hear on campus and in my community. Before, I ignored these things. Now, I choose to acknowledge that hate exists."

"I choose to remember."