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We need more jews

The Jerusalem Post Internet Edition

Safire urges liberal conversion approach
Etgar Lefkovits, THE JERUSALEM POST Jun. 15, 2005

As their number continue to decline, American Jews should be more
open to the idea of bringing converts into Judaism which is the most
viable way of stemming the tide of ever-decreasing Jewish Americans,
New York Times columnist William Safire said Wednesday.

"We have to give serious thought to encouraging outsiders to embrace
our faith," Safire said in a Jerusalem address where he was bestowed
the 'Guardian of Zion' award by Bar-Ilan University.

"Jews in America should be much more open to discover ways for
interested outsiders to enter," he added.

The fiercely pro-Israel 75-year-old hawkish American columnist and
lexicographer, who retired from daily journalism earlier this year,
said that such a move, certain to draw the wrath of the
ultra-orthodox world, "need not dilute the ardor" of the orthodox.

He noted that at 5 million, the number of American Jews today was
much the same as it was a half century ago, when during those same 50
years the population of the United States has almost doubled, with
Jews now making up less than 2 percent of the American population,
compared to more than 4 percent a half century ago.

The Pulitzer-Prize wining columnist opined that a basic Jewish
education - including day schools - and a strong connection to Israel
alone would not be enough to stem the time of decline American Jewry
who are fast intermarrying.

Safire suggested that given today's realities longtime American
Jewish themes - support for Israel, combating anti-Semitism and
bringing up your children as Jewish - needs to be buttressed by "a
more universal message" that Jews traditionally cherish such as
combating injustice on earth, and the primacy of living the ethical
life.

In his half-hour long address, entitled "Jerusalem Job and Justice,"
the staunch longtime friend of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon barely
touched on the political developments, except between commas, in
which he heaped praised on the "strong" premier and his
"painful but necessary" Gaza pullout plan, while calling on the
Palestinians to reject the demagoguery of the "ultimate conquest,"
and urged Americas to push ahead in trying to strengthening
democracies the world over, including Israel.

Accepting the university's 2005 Guardian of Zion award, by The
Ingeborg Rennert Center for Jerusalem Studies, Safire concluded his
remarks by saying that it was his conviction that Jerusalem will
remain "one city under God indivisible with liberty and justice for
all."

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