Mayor Lupolianski meets Conservative
leaders in his office
By Daphna Berman
Fri., October 22, 2004 Cheshvan 7, 5765

The United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism (USCJ) dedicated their new five-dunam religious and cultural center in Jerusalem yesterday after several years of planning, building and renovations in the capital's downtown.

The six-building complex, which officially opened last month, is aimed at creating an increasingly visible Conservative presence in Israel that will also serve as a home base for visitors from North America.

"We're trying to make Conservative Judaism a viable option for non-Orthodox Israelis and having a complex like this gives us more exposure," Rabbi Jim Lebeau, director of the Center said.

Although building began in 1998, Conservative leaders involved in planning say the construction was especially long because of the "stumbling blocks" certain government agencies placed in their path. "We had all sorts of problems with building permits and I don't think it's because we are Conservative, I know it's because we are Conservative," vice president of the USCJ, Rabbi Jerome Epstein, said. "People made that clear to us at the very beginning."

The Fuchsberg Center - named for a prominent family in New York that contributed some five million of the estimated $30 million building cost - includes a residence hall meant to house participants in the Conservative movement's youth programs.

In the past, youngsters from North America who traveled here for the summer were often hosted by Orthodox institutions, which sometimes made them pray with a mechitza - the division used to separate men and women during prayer services. "Orthodox institutions welcomed us over the years, but they made no bones about infusing our programs with their values," Epstein said.

Like the Reform movement's Beit Shmuel just down the street, the Fuchsberg Center will also include a youth hostel, though Epstein says that the parallel between the two complexes ends there. "We want this to become a springboard for our approach to Judaism," he said, "and we're hoping it will be a sanctuary for Conservative Jews from North American who affiliate with us and who wouldn't necessarily feel comfortable staying with the Reform movement."

Also included in the Fuchsberg Center is a conference room, an auditorium and two dining halls. The final building is in the planning stages and the on-site yeshiva, which was built ten years ago, is slated for a new beit midrash by next spring.

The money for the project, which came almost exclusively from North America, was part of Conservative Jewry's "realization that they have a commitment to the State of Israel and building of the masorti [Israel's Conservative] movement," Epstein added. "Investing in spirituality doesn't have the glory of saving lives, but that doesn't mean it's less important."

The USCJ, which is the association of Conservative synagogues in North America and represents some one-and-a-half million Jews, has maintained a presence in downtown Jerusalem since 1972.

A spokesperson for the Jerusalem municipality denied Epstein's allegation that the building was delayed because of its connection to Conservative Judaism, and said that the municipality "does not discriminate against any movement." He added that every city building project needs the appropriate paperwork, approval for which is given according law.

A delegation of Conservative leaders met with Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski Wednesday at municipality headquarters in Safra Square, ahead of the building dedication yesterday. The meeting, which was closed to the media, was something of a redress for the mayor, given his public snubbing of the movement in February, when he was "too busy" to address an international conference of 300 Conservative rabbis in the capital.

Although Conservative leaders told Anglo File they would have welcomed the mayor as the keynote speaker for the dedication, they decided not to extend a formal invitation to him so as not to "embarrass" him had he decided to refuse.

"I went to the mayor and said, `look, we'd love to have you here [at the Fuchsberg Center] but if you're not willing to come here, would you be willing to host something there [at the municipality]?'" Epstein said, recalling his conversation with the mayor in July. "I put it so that he didn't have to make the choice. I don't know if he would have accepted, but I don't think he would have."

Still, Epstein stressed that it was "political realities" and not the mayor's "personal antipathy" towards the Conservative movement that was behind his reluctance to appear at the public dedication. "The situation is frustrating and I wish it was different, but the mayor has been very helpful and we have a great deal of respect for him," Epstein said. "The meeting was cordial and positive without any rancor at all."

Jerusalem municipality spokesperson Gidi Schmerling said that the mayor could not participate in the center dedication yesterday because of previous engagements "and so he invited the group to his office [on Wednesday] instead." (D.B.)
 

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