141:, he also expressed support of the Soviet Union. He wrote "..the Jews of the Soviet have enjoyed equality of status and opportunity for only about a quarter of a century. They are the most recently emancipated Jews in the world... Freedom and integration and emancipation flow now through the veins of the Jews." and that "We have seen Jews free and equal under democracy and communism. In respect to Zionism he wrote, "At a single stroke, the Revolution emancipated those very Jews for whom, previously, no solution other than Zionism would be efficacious, according to Zionist spokesmen. Soviet Jews no longer had need of Palestine- or any other refuge. The level of suffering of Russian Jewry... was gone".
501:
Wolsey resigned as vice-president in
December 1945 and thereafter became totally inactive in the ACJ. In 1948, upon the creation of the State of Israel, Wolsey formally withdrew as a member of the American Council for Judaism. In a statement released to the press, he called for the dissolution of the Council and pleaded for an effort to heal all wounds in order to strengthen Israel by creating a united spiritual front of American Jews. Wolsey's recognition of the realities of the situation and his willingness to state his changed position in public won him much acclaim.
248:" It was from this perspective that Elmer Berger carefully and specifically documented his case against Zionism and against the oppressive character of the Zionist state. He called upon the state of Israel to de-Zionize, i.e. to cease being an exclusivist Jewish state granting by law rights and privileges to Jews not granted to non-Jews. He beseeched the state of Israel to develop as a truly democratic state, to be just and merciful to all people and thus to walk humbly with God.
144:
In 1955, while heading ACJ, he advocated the complete assimilation of Jews into
American life by switching the Jewish Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday, creating a new menorah to "reflect the appreciation of American Jews of the freedom of life in the United States," and for the interpretation of the
500:
Beginning in the fall of 1944, however, Wolsey began to experience a sense of alienation from the anti-Zionist movement. He felt that Berger and
Wallach ran the ACJ in an "undemocratic fashion" and that they overemphasized ACJ's anti-Zionist aspects rather than its Reform principles. As a result,
196:
in 1967, an event which swept what had previously been an arguably ambivalent
American Jewish community with a massive pro-Israel fervor, Berger was widely pilloried, including by other members of the American Council for Judaism, for declaring Israel to be the principal aggressor in the conflict.
167:
After Berger's comments on the 1967 war, accusing Israel of aggression in an interview, he named six Jews who supposedly agreed with his positions. Five of the six repudiated the statement. Three of them stepped down from the
Council, saying: "The council completely misrepresented my views" and
148:
Louis Wolsey resigned from the ACJ in 1945, but this did little to slow the activities of Berger and the ACJ, who felt that their chief purpose was to combat the influence of
Zionism in the religious life of American Jews. Murray Polner, a historian of Judaism in the USA, has written of the ACJ:
205:
In 1968 he founded, with the support of some loyal friends, American Jewish
Alternatives to Zionism (AJAZ), which was intended to serve only as his personal vehicle for writing and lecturing. This he continued to do actively, although in a state of semi-retirement, splitting his time between
176:
Beyond 1948, Elmer Berger continued to write and lecture on behalf of the ACJ, becoming its
Executive Vice President. In this position he became increasingly well known and widely despised by the Zionist camp in American Judaism, particularly after he toured the broader
241:
There are those who see
Judaism as 'the religion of the Jewish People.' This book will not please them. For it indicates, unmistakably, that the origins of Judaism were not in 'the Jewish people' and that the best and finest of Judaism today transcends the Jewish
151:
By 1948, with the establishment of an independent Israel, the council had earned the enmity of the vast majority of
American Jewry, who viewed the group as indifferent, if not hostile, to Jews who had lived through the Holocaust and had nowhere to
92:
from 1936 to 1942. Berger married Seville Schwartz, the sister of a classmate at Hebrew Union College on September 3, 1931. They divorced in 1946, and shortly thereafter he remarried to Ruth Winegarden, the daughter of a prominent
770:
109:
of 1937 which moderated the movement's original anti-Zionism and rejection of traditional ritual. It was Berger's mentor, Louis Wolsey, who would in June 1942 issue a call to convene the
161:, as well as anti-blackness. He also accused Elmer Berger of writing for Arab delegations at the UN. These accusations were denied by acting executive director, George Bagrash.
40:
from its founding in 1942 until 1955. After this time, he served as a consultant until he was forced to resign in 1968, when he founded American Jewish Alternatives to Zionism.
421:"Zionism-Israel Information Center Historical Source Documents - Pittsburgh Platform of 1885 - Declaration of Principles - Columbus Platform 1937 - Reform Judaism and Zionism"
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another saying, “I do not want to be associated in any way with this movement any more than I would want to belong to the John Birch Society.”
68:. As a boy his family attended the Euclid Avenue Temple (Anshe Chesed Congregation) where he was encouraged to study for the rabbinate by Rabbi
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267:
the book places liberal Jewish anti-Zionism in historical perspective. Ross' book was criticized by Lawrence Grossman, the editor of the
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Judaism is to do justice and to have mercy and to walk humbly with God; and all the rest is commentary and of secondary importance.
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557:
113:, and who hired Berger as its first executive director. In the organization's struggle against the Zionist program adopted at the
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In 1968, Dr. Norton Mezvinksy stepped down as executive director of the ACJ and accused the organization of lacking empathy for
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in May 1942, Berger increasingly became the movement's public face, particularly with the publication of his book
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235:"Throughout his adult life Elmer Berger's definition of Judaism did not vary. In the introduction to his book
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manufacturer who belonged to the Flint congregation. They were married until Ruth's death in 1979.
77:
653:'Rabbi outcast,' a biography of visionary anti-Zionist Elmer Berger, is coming to bookstores soon
310:
Israel's Threat to Judaism: A speech delivered to the Irish Arab Society, Dublin, 5 February 1970
186:
105:
From the beginning, Elmer Berger was squarely in the camp of those Reform rabbis who opposed the
420:
597:
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https://www.jta.org/archive/report-intensification-of-arab-propaganda-activities-through-france
556:{{Cite news |title=Report: Intensification of Arab Propaganda activities through France | url=
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holiday of Sukkot "to be broadened to take on meaning to citizens of an industrial society."
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560:|access-date=24 September 2024 | work=Jewish Telegraphic Agency |date=20 November 1968]
476:"A Finding Aid to the American Council for Judaism Records. 1937-1989 (bulk 1957-1968)"
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Elmer Berger was considered a hero in Arab countries for upholding their narrative.
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This ultimately led to Berger's resignation from the Council the following year.
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at the age of 88. Among his direct legacies were his close involvement with the
73:
26:
244:" At the end of this same book, Elmer Berger succinctly gave his definition: "
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532:"Council for Judaism Denies Charge of Unconcern for Jews in Arab Nations"
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571:"Five Prominent Jews Repudiate Position of American Council for Judaism"
456:. Devin-Adair Company. pp. 13–19 (Soviet Jews), 138–139 (suffering)
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in 1955 and his views became increasingly identified by opponents with
670:
Elmer Berger's Anti-Zionism: Keeping the Humane Jewish Tradition Alive
94:
708:
American Jewish Alternatives to Zionism (New York, New York) Records
158:
514:"Obituary on "Elmer Berger 88, a Foe of Zionism as well as Israel"
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53:
23:
379:"Cleveland Jewish History - Anshe Chesed (Euclid Avenue Temple)"
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A Partisan History of Judaism: The Jewish Case Against Zionism
65:
29:
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A Jewish Thinker in the Tradition of Humanistic Universalism
617:
Rabbi Outcast: Elmer Berger and American Jewish Anti-Zionism
316:
Letters and Non-Letters: The White House, Zionism and Israel
261:
Rabbi Outcast: Elmer Berger and American Jewish Anti-Zionism
125:
was a surrender to the racial myths about the Jews and that
182:
771:
Hebrew Union College – Jewish Institute of Religion alumni
296:
Who Knows Better Must Say So! American Council for Judaism
154:
The ACJ is said to have had about 14,000 members in 1948.
129:
was still the best path for the Jews in the modern world.
303:
Judaism or Jewish Nationalism: The Alternative to Zionism
282:
The Jewish Dilemma: The Case Against Zionist Nationalism
734:
by Dr. Naseer Aruri January/February 1997, pgs. 24, 84
720:
400:"The Columbus Platform (1937) - Jewish Virtual Library"
84:
in 1932. He began his brief career in the ministry in
231:, who wrote a detailed obituary for him concluding:
354:, University Press of Florida Gainesville, FL 1993
685:
742:
259:In 2011 a biography of Berger was published,
596:Mezvinsky, Norton (November–December 1996).
806:American people of Hungarian-Jewish descent
352:Peace for Palestine: First Lost Opportunity
227:and his mentorship of Middle East scholar
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801:American people of German-Jewish descent
736:Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
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602:Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
224:Washington Report on Middle East Affairs
36:. He was the executive director of the
22:(May 27, 1908 – October 5, 1996) was a
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449:
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686:Lawrence Grossman (30 August 2011).
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253:Elmer Berger was a Jewish patriot".
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712:American Jewish Historical Society
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817:
217:Elmer Berger died in Sarasota of
16:American Reform rabbi (1908–1996)
781:Religious leaders from Cleveland
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766:University of Cincinnati alumni
726:A Tribute to Rabbi Elmer Berger
662:
645:
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331:Institute for Palestine Studies
320:Institute for Palestine Studies
263:by Jack Ross. According to the
598:"Rabbi Elmer Berger 1908-1996"
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327:Memoirs of an Anti-Zionist Jew
1:
761:Jewish American anti-Zionists
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627:, Potomac Books, Inc., 2011,
336:Deane A. Tack, Elmer Berger:
291:, Devin-Adair, New York, 1951
284:, Devin-Adair, New York, 1945
237:A Partisan History of Judaism
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796:20th-century American rabbis
721:American Council for Judaism
674:American Council for Judaism
265:American Council for Judaism
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111:American Council for Judaism
38:American Council for Judaism
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776:People from Flint, Michigan
121:in 1945, which argued that
10:
822:
786:Anti-Zionist Reform rabbis
340:, Destra Publishers, 1993
305:, Bookman Associates, 1957
716:Center for Jewish History
536:Jewish Telegraphic Agency
269:American Jewish Year Book
365:
78:University of Cincinnati
575:Jewish Telegraph Agency
60:and a third generation
791:American Reform rabbis
688:"Jews against Zionism"
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450:Berger, Elmer (1945).
275:Bibliography (partial)
159:Jews in Arab countries
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80:, he was ordained by
32:widely known for his
668:Allan C. Brownfeld,
659:, November 25, 2010.
338:Thorns of Resistance
82:Hebrew Union College
728:, a short biography
676:website, Fall 2011.
489:Louis Wolsey Papers
115:Biltmore Conference
72:. After graduating
48:Berger was born in
692:Jewish Ideas Daily
623:2012-02-01 at the
520:. October 9, 1996.
494:2010-05-06 at the
453:The Jewish Dilemma
139:The Jewish Dilemma
119:The Jewish Dilemma
101:Political activism
88:before serving in
641:978-1-59797-697-8
212:Sarasota, Florida
107:Columbus Platform
86:Pontiac, Michigan
58:railroad engineer
44:Family background
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62:German-American
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70:Louis Wolsey
64:Jew born in
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34:anti-Zionism
20:Elmer Berger
19:
18:
756:1996 deaths
751:1908 births
614:Jack Ross,
239:he wrote: "
219:lung cancer
194:Six-Day War
187:Palestinian
179:Middle East
745:Categories
702:References
657:Mondoweiss
201:Later life
192:After the
172:Ostracism
95:furniture
76:from the
54:Hungarian
621:Archived
492:Archived
208:New York
189:causes.
714:at the
710:at the
460:7 April
242:people.
123:Zionism
639:
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56:-born
27:Reform
24:Jewish
366:Notes
66:Texas
30:rabbi
637:ISBN
629:ISBN
583:2024
544:2024
462:2020
428:2014
407:2014
386:2014
356:ISBN
342:ISBN
210:and
185:and
183:Arab
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