In response to the Forward op-ed mentioned previously in this space (and responded to by JOI), another important voice has weighed in with some excellent points. Long-time advocate for outreach and JOI’s Treasurer of the Board of Directors, Dr. Michael Rappeport, writes in a letter to the Forward:

I read the op ed page article by Jack Wertheimer and Steve Bayme in some amazement. Perhaps I misunderstand, but it seems to me it represents a true milestone in their thinking. For years I have been listening to them proclaim that the Jewish community should concentrate its resources on “Quality not Quantity”. For years they have been saying that it was far more important to deepen the Judaism of already practicing Jews then to reach out to the non-practicing, let alone the intermarried.

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