JFNA condemns Israeli chief rabbi’s statement

Reacting to a statement aired Tuesday over Israeli radio by Chief Rabbi Shlomo Amar, the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) issued a firm condemnation in rebuttal today.  In speaking over Kol Berama, a haredi radio station, Amar was quoted as calling non-Orthodox rabbis detrimental to “the foundations of Judaism.” He went on to state  that these non-Orthodox rabbis are causing “great damage” and “great danger” to the Jewish people. ” It is well known that the greatest danger in our times is assimilation and they recklessly enable this phenomenon,” Amar said. The statement by the JFNA read that “It is a fundamental Jewish virtue to ‘love your fellow as yourself.’ We condemn comments that that disparage fellow Jews and, in particular, well-established branches of Judaism that represent 80 percent of North American Jewry.” The statement advocated for a continued, pluralistic dialog in which all members of the Jewish people would be considered as equals.