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25 Sivan 5763 - June 25, 2003 | Mordecai Plaut, director Published Weekly
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NEWS
Reform Congregations Denied Membership in Swiss Umbrella Organization
by S. Fried

At a large gathering of representatives from Jewish organizations around Switzerland held before Shavuos, the official Swiss Jewish community -- SIG -- officially rejected a request by Reform groups for membership, reports the Yiddishe Tzeitung.

SIG is the umbrella group for organized Jewish communities in Switzerland and includes Orthodox and chareidi kehillos among its members. In practice all Swiss Jews belong to the organization, whose primary task is to represent the Jewish community vis-a-vis the government.

Recently two Liberal (i.e. Reform) communities in Geneva and Bern asked to join the organization. They claimed since the SIG is not a political organization it must accept every kehilloh asking to join. The Orthodox organizations flatly rejected the request and announced they would withdraw from SIG if the Reform groups were accepted as members.

A statement of opinion publicized by chareidi representatives -- including HaRav Breische of the Agudas Achim of Zurich, HaRav Levi of Zurich, Rav Folger, the Chief Rabbi of Basel, and rabbonim from the French-speaking region of Switzerland -- explained that a Reform organization cannot be recognized as an organization since the Reform do not accept fundamental principles such as Torah from Sinai, and therefore there is no common ground. The request for acceptance by the Reform as members was intended to induce the Jewish communities of Switzerland to legitimize their approach. Despite the refusal, members of the Reform organization can still be accepted as members of the general Jewish community on an individual basis.

 

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