Claudia Peschiutta
GLENDALE -- Concerned with supporting the activities of a group that
discriminates against homosexuals, leaders of Temple Sinai of Glendale
were considering Tuesday whether to continue sponsoring a Cub Scout pack.
A recent statement from Reform Jewish leaders recommending that
congregations eliminate ties with the Boy Scouts of America had Glendale
Rabbi Carole Meyers wondering whether it would be appropriate for the
temple to keep Pack No. 180.
"I've always had my concerns about this subject and whether we should
be having the Boy Scout troop here," Meyers said. "Gays and lesbians
should not be banned from anything because of their status as such."
Meyers called the Boy Scouts' position on homosexuals an "immoral
one."
Despite the organization's stance, efforts have been made to teach the
scouts at Temple Sinai about diversity, she said.
Started about five years ago, the pack consists of 28 boys in grades 1
through 5 from Glendale and surrounding cities.
Pack leader Michael Deaktor said the program at Temple Sinai is a good
one that emphasizes scouting and social values.
"There isn't anything to replace it and that's a problem because I
don't know what these boys would do for extracurricular activities," he
said.
The U.S. Supreme Court last year ruled the Boy Scouts have the right
to exclude openly gay men from the organization.
A joint commission of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and
the Central Conference of American Rabbis, two Reform Jewish groups,
asked congregations to cease sponsoring or housing Boy Scout groups
because of the organization's discriminatory policies.
"As a religious movement, we believe strongly that all people are
children of God, regardless of their sexual orientation," said Rabbi
Daniel Polish, director of the Joint Commission on Social Action.
"When you take one class of people and exclude them from anything,
you're clearly perpetrating an injustice," he said.
Polish equated the ban on gays to excluding Jews or blacks.
"That would be intolerable and [excluding gay men from the Boy Scouts]
is intolerable," he said.
