DAYTON flag. tion away from precedent. A strong segment of Reform “The fact that we’re a congreJews didn’t support Zionism gation that grows and changes in the early years of the Jewis a positive thing. It’s OK for ish state. In 1954, the Reform us to examine our position on movement’s Central Conferthings from time to time,” she ence of American Rabbis issued says. a responsa that stated, “...the “Three other Reform congreIsraeli flag is quite out of place gations in North America have in an American synagogue,” a just gone through the same flag position CCAR didn’t rescind issue as Temple Israel,” Finley until 1977. says. “In each case, the effort With Temple Israel’s move to was led by veterans and was Riverside Drive voted down.” in 1994, it contin- When Temple One Temple ued the custom Israel congreIsrael moved established in gant whose view 1953 of no flags in to Riverside on the flag issue the sanctuary. In Drive in 1994, has changed 2004, they were since 2007 is it continued placed in the Richard Saphire. lobby. “I felt less the custom When Cohn restrongly about turned to Dayton established in the need to keep in 1956 after his 1953 of no flags a flag out than discharge from I thought the in the sanctuary. proponents felt the Marines, he says he menabout the need tioned the absence of flags on to keep it in,” Saphire says. “If the bima to rabbis occasionally, there were flags in the sanctubut didn’t do anything about it. ary it wouldn’t bother me, I’d “At that particular time, I probably get used to it. It was didn’t have the feeling,” he better to work out some sort of says. “Later on, as I grew older, compromise for the peace and things happened. I felt that harmony of the congregation. when a veteran died in any war, We have enough stuff to deal that even the comfort of having with in Reform Judaism and the the American and Israeli flags in Jewish community in Dayton the sanctuary, to me, was mean- rather than spend a lot of time ingful. The families shouldn’t dealing with stuff like this.” have to request that the flags be Cohn likens the outcome of there for a funeral.” the May 7 vote rejecting flags in Bodney-Halasz says she atthe sanctuary to the turnout for tempted to move the conversaa zoning meeting.
Loving dependable care, when you’re not there “The people who were against flags in the sanctuary came to the meeting,” he insists. “The people who were for it stayed at home. To me, it’s laziness.” He says he’ll continue on as a lifelong member of Temple Israel; at some point, he’ll bring up the flag issue again, though he gives no time frame. “I’m sure there are a lot of people who are going to think of me in a different way, and they’re probably not happy with me,” Cohn says.
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An air of civility
A consensus among those interviewed for this story is that this time around, the proceedings were civil. “The rabbi handled this with so much tact and diplomacy throughout the whole thing,” says Linda Novak, who sits on the worship and music committee and is its incoming chair. “She tried very much to avoid having any disruption in the family of the congregation.” Saphire says Bodney-Halasz did all that she could have done to keep the peace. “I think she deserves a lot of credit and so does Bart (outgoing temple president Bart Weprin), for handling this in the most sensitive way, and trying to make everybody feel as if they mattered in this, that their voices were heard. In that sense, it makes her come out of this stronger.”
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