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Page 2-THE NEWS-April, 1988 Guest Editorial Focus on Federation — Part I By Rita C. Mond “Knowing” Ethics: Contentment with Discontent By Rabbi Marc Wilson Until not too long ago, I thought I knew a lot about bio medical ethics. Then I had the good fortune to be asked to join Charlotte’s Bioethics Resource Group. Through my association with BRG and the tutelage of UNCO Professor John Lincourt I have come to understand a criticsd distinction: I had indeed read a lot about ethical dicta and prescriptions. I still knew woefully little about bioethics because I had yet to learn to ask the questions and debate the issues that lead to cons- cionable ethical decisions and sensitive ethical guidance. In our arrogance and/or naivete, we frequently assume that ethics are cut-and-dried absolutes to be categorically imposed on human situations. The reality of ethical decision-making is the frustrating awareness that we are usually questing for answers to inherently unanswerable questions and grappling with issues that can be argued with equal credibility from diametrically opposite perspectives. One’s expertise in dealing with ethical dilemmas doej not come from an ability to cite a particular dictum that “solves” a particular situation. It comes from knowing how to ponder, not blurt. It comes from asking countless hard questions and knowing the role of devil’s advocate. We must be wary of those who are too sure that they are the final repository of truth, that they have the definitive answer to any ethical dilemma. We must be equally wary of those who are too eager or smug in coming forth with ab solute moral pronouncements. The Catch-22 of real exper tise in ethical decision-making is that those men and women who deal most thoughtfully with these concerns never enter into the process with relish or arrogance and are always the first to deny that they are “experts.” Consider the complex ethical issues surrounding the prob lem of AIDS. Can a sensible person honestly maintain that any of these issues can be resolved by the imposition of pat answers, be they religious or secular in nature? All indica tions are that the concerns will intensify, as will the passion that surrounds them. As we delve deeper, we realize that at stake in our discussion of AIDS is not just AIDS, but critical questions that go to the very core of society’s ethical dis position. The issue of patient confidentiality is a particularly com pelling case in point: Under what circumstances, if any, is a physician obliged to divulge information about an AIDS carrier, even against the patient’s will? A plausible case can be made for the physician sharing such confidential information with an immediately endangered party (a fiance, for example) and others who are likely to have jeopardizing — although not necessarily sexual — contact with the carrier. Society does, after all, function on the prin ciple that the liberty of an individual to pursue personal goals and choices may be limited when others will be harmed by those activities. An equally plausible case can be made for protecting the AIDS carrier’s absolute confidentiality. The reasonable premise of such an argument is that high-risk individuals will be less and less forthcoming for voluntary testing if they believe that their confidentiality will be violated. Thus, by divulging information about a particular AIDS carrier, we may save an individual life here and there, but the larger societal goal of protecting and preventing a disease of epidemic proportion may be thwarted. What deeper issues of social conscience hang in the balance? When should individual liberties be surrendered for the sake of society’s better interests? How do we draw the line, emd who should be empowered to draw it? Are society’s better interests served by protecting indi viduals one-by-one, as they find themselves immediately im periled? Or, are society’s better interests served by setting and striving for long-range goals, even if an innocent indi vidual is occasionally injured in the process? What is society prepared to do to deal justly with those who will inevitably suffer psychological trauma, personal upheaval, grief and possible physical harm, whether it be the carrier, his/her unsuspecting partner, or family and friends? Is there a “trade off” to be made when individual liberties are curtailed for the sake of higher societal objectives? Do we simply close the issue, as Jimmy Carter did the issue of inequity in the avziilability of abortion, by procledming that “life’s not always fair?” We live in a society that likes to see everything tied up in neat little packages. That will probably never be the case in the domain of ethical decision-making. We need be cautious of giving too much credibility to those spokesmen, religious or secular, who are overly cocky about the absolute rightness of their position. We must realize that a truly credible pro cess of arriving at ethical decisions will always leave us rid dled with doubt. Grappling with ethical dilemmas may be one area of life in which we will simply have to learn to be content with discontent. This is the first of a series of articles about The Charlotte Jewish Federation and its constituent agencies. The Jewish Federation is the American institutional ex pression of thousands of years of Jewish communal history. There is no other institution quite like it, in or out of Jewish life; it has been shaped by a myriad of factors which have permeated the Jewish historial experience. Crucial to that ex perience is a system of ethical values which have been found in such sacred writings as the Bible and Talmud as well as in a vast selection of secular lit erature. Among these values are: The importance of ethical conduct; love thy neighbor, be he Jew or non-Jew; the seincti- ty of life; the dignity of man; the importance of charity, social justice and community. The Hebrew work “Tzeda- kah” which is translated as charity, righteousness and justice is a basic concept to Judaism and to Federations — to be charitable is to be righteous and to be just. Closely related to the concept of Tzedakah in Judaism is the principle that aid to one’s fellow man is not an individual act, but a group responsibility. The concept of a “Conmiuni- ty Chest” existed more than 2,000 years ago, when it was a requirement that communal leaders take responsibility for collections and disbursement of charity funds. By the Mid dle Ages, Jewish self- governing communities had reinforced these trends. In the late 19th and early 20th Centuries there was a mass immigration of Jews to this contry. With it was brought the institutional forms which existed in Europe and what was to become the foundation of American Jewish community organiza tion. By the end of the 19th Century there were literally thousands of Jewish philan thropic associations along the Eastern Seaboard, more than 3,000 in New York City alone. The last decade of the 19th Century witnessed a tremen dous increase in Jewish im migration and with it an un precedented increase in the need for cheiritable aid. It was this need that led to the crea tion of the Jewish Federation. The fundamental fact about Jewish Federations and the programs they sponsor is that they help us to express our sense of Jewish identity through a program of Jewish action. What is Federation? The word “Federation” is used to denote a central Jewish community organiza tion which carries out the following community-wide functions for a number of agencies: financing, budget ing, planning and coordina tion, leadership development and renewal. In a very reeil sense. Federation is a trus teeship which acts on behalf of a group of contributors. These 1948 —•vnTV© Holocaust to be Remembered On April 17, at 7 p.m. there will be a commemoration of the Holocaust at Pease Audi torium at Central Piedmont Community College. Cospon sored by CPCC, the Charlotte Jewish Federation, The Na tional Conference of Chris tians and Jews and the Char lotte Area Clergy Association, the program is entitled “In Memory of the Holocaust — Then and Now — There and Here.” Guest speakers will be Ira Gissen, director of the VA/NC Region of the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith, and Harvey Gantt, former mayor of Charlotte. Emphasis will be made on the manifestations of prejudice, especially in rela tion to minority groups. There is no charge for this event and the entire communi ty is encouraged to attend. contributors represent a broad spectrum of Jewish interests and, therefore, our Federation supports a wide range of causes and programs. Federa tion is the only Jewish institu tion in this country which has been able to develop a pro gram of service to the entire Jewish community. It is a vol untary organization. It repre sents and speaks for its consti tuents when authorized to do so, but is not the “official voice” of American Jewry on many issues and has never taken the position that it should do so. The Federation is deeply concerned with a number of fundamental issues which af fects the future of our com munal life. Among them are: Jewish identity and the Jewish family; the elderly, Federation-Synagogue rela tions; Jewish education; social justice for all people. The Charlotte Jewish Federation has been in ex istence for over 50 years (earlier it was known as the Charlotte Federation of Jew ish Charities). As the years have gone by, more and more constituent agencies have come under its “umbrella.” Along with this the corres ponding financial needs have increased. These needs are local, national and inter national. Though much of the money goes to such agencies as our own Federation, Foun dation, JCC, Jewish Family Service, Hebrew Cemetery, Jewish Day School, Luba- vitch, BYO, ADL, Hillel, Blu- menthal Home, over 60% goes to UJA. Funds that come to the UJA from our local cam paign are transmitted to Israel primarily through the United Israel Appeal (UIA), Inc., which monitors and controls their appropriate and effective expenditure on programs that qualify under American tax laws. In the months that follow there will be an in-depth report about the constituent agencies as to what they do and how much money is allocated to them. Also in future articles more information will be given on the programs we support in Israel, in Europe and nati onally. Federation needs everyone’s support financially, but it also ne^s volunteers to work on Campaign and to help on various committees, such as the Community Relations Committee (CRC), Missions, Leadership Development, Pub lic Relations, Marketing, Shalom Y’all, Education, etc. We encourage our readers’ viewpoints. Letters should be submitted typewritten and double-spaced and signed. Please include your address and phone numt)er. We re serve the right to edit. THE CHARLOTTE JEWISH NEWS Published monthly by: Charlotte Jewish Federation Michael L. Minkin, Director Foundation of Charlotte Jewish Community & Jewish Community Center Barry Hantman, Director Charlotte Jewish Day School Berta Straz, Principal Lubavitch of N.C Rabbi Yossi Groner, Director Editor Rita Mond Advertising Blanche Yarus Copy deadline the 10th of each month P.O. Box 13369, Charlotte. N.C. 28211 !■ Th« N«w« mmt •MMtltvt* • kaahnitli •e«ere*emit.
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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April 1, 1988, edition 1
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