Wants ‘Positive’ Coverage

I should like to offer a critical remark on an aspect of The Jewish Week that has disturbed me for a long time.

First, a deserved word of commendation, in that The Jewish Week, in many areas of metropolitan Jewish life, has not hesitated to point to ground-breaking news coverage. It has uncovered difficult and sensitive occasions in our collective life. For that it deserves, and I hope receives, much credit, and hopefully will continue in that tradition.

Where I feel it is remiss is in the arena of detailing positive influences and noteworthy achievement of lesser-publicized aspects of our community. I recall no commendatory articles about the marvelous efforts of the Lubavitch organization to reach out to students on the college campus; no positive evaluation of Conservative Judaism and some breathtaking steps it has taken to reach out to those in need of a divorce, to the LGBTQ community; no in-depth details about the recent bold efforts of Reform Judaism under its new and invigorated leadership; no attempt to find positive achievement and depths of loyalty and commitment to charedi people and the good things they are doing.

The same for Reconstructionist, secular and Yiddishist groups. Satmar’s wide social services have been uncommented on. All of that would be new ground for The Jewish Week, and I trust that you will have the will and the resources to go there.

There is no attempt here to indicate malice, only oversight. And it can be corrected. Committed diversity to Jewish life, let us hope, is the way of the future.

Past President, New York Board of Rabbis

Editor’s Note: We would point, among other stories this year, to a Sept. 30 page 1 story on Chabad’s growing impact on college campuses; an Aug. 26 page 1 story on a new Reform movement effort on voting rights (and continuing coverage of its “Audacious Hospitality” efforts); a Feb. 12 page 1 story about the fresh course of openness being charted by the Conservative movement’s new prayer book; and an August 2015 page 1 story on the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College’s decision to ordain interfaith rabbis.