RABBI ALEXANDER M. SCHINDLER - AUTOGRAPHED SIGNED PHOTOGRAPH - HFSID 202110

ALEXANDER M. SCHINDLER
B/w photo of Schindler from the chest up in suit-and-tie and with hands raised, signed "Warm Regards"
Photograph signed "Warm Regards/Alexander M. Schindler". 7½x5 overall, 5¾x3¾, one surface. Captioned: "Rabbi Alexander M. Schindler/President, Union of American Hebrew Congregations." Schindler (1925-2000, born in Munich, Germany) was a rabbi and leader in the Reform movement of Judaism who held controversial views. His family fled Germany during the reign of Adolf Hitler, and he joined the United States Army during World War II, where he earned a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts. Schindler said later that he intended to become an engineer until he saw the concentration camp at Dachau, Bavaria, Germany. Schindler was ordained a rabbi in 1953 and, in 1959, founded the New England Coalition of Reform Synagogues in Boston. He was appointed director of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations in New England and, by 1973, was president. Schindler saw his faith as a dynamic and evolving one, which led to several controversial stands. One of his most controversial was his program to reach out patrilineal descendants of Jews, which held that the children of a Jewish father and non-Jewish mother could be accepted as Jews if raised Jewish. This program expanded in 1978 to non-Jewish spouses of Jews and ended 500 year-old traditions against Jewish proselytizing. Schindler also championed equality for women in Judaism and acceptance of gay and lesbian Jews, but also admonished Jews for being too lax in their observances of their faith. Lightly creased. Paperclip and pinhead-sized impressions near top left edge. Otherwise in fine condition.