Prager: ‘We will not survive as a secular people’

Los Angeles-based author, columnist, radio talk-show host and Jewish activist Dennis Prager thinks Jews need to become more religious.

But contrary to what one might expect from this yeshiva-trained political and social conservative and champion of ethical monotheism, that does not mean Prager thinks all Jews should become Orthodox.

Indeed, the first of the lectures he will give at Milwaukee’s Congregation Sinai (Reform) next month will be titled “Non-Orthodox Religiosity.”

“It has been my thesis for decades,” Prager said in a telephone interview last month, “that if we do not develop a vibrant, religious way to be Jewish that is not necessarily Orthodox, our survival is imperiled.”

“We will not survive as a secular people,” he continued. “There will always be secular Jews, but it is Judaism, not secularism, that kept the Jewish people alive.”

In his three appearances at the synagogue, Prager is scheduled to speak on:

• “Non-Orthodox Religiosity” on Friday, Oct. 16, 7:30 p.m., after 6:15 p.m. Shabbat services; free admission.

• “How Judaism Differs from Christianity and Humanism” on Saturday, Oct. 17, noon; $18 for luncheon and talk, $36 for those plus autographed copy of one of Prager’s four books. (Pre-registration is required for this event.)

• “Israel: America’s Litmus Test” on Saturday, Oct. 17, 8 p.m.; free admission. This event is sponsored by local The Committee for Truth and Justice and the national organization Advocates for Israel.

Through his thinking and preaching, Prager has inspired some Jews to become more religious, among them Milwaukeean Jim Beer.

“There are a lot of Jews,” said Beer in a telephone interview, “who don’t relate to strictly religious observance, but want to lead religious lives and don’t know how to do it. I was one of them.” In fact, he said he “ran away from Judaism” at one point.

But Beer came back, and one significant reason he did was Prager. Beer has listened to Prager’s radio show — though based in Los Angeles and not carried in Milwaukee, the show is nationally syndicated and can be heard on a Chicago AM station receivable here, Beer said — heard him speak, met him, and read his writings.

“He really helped me,” Beer said. Prager’s thinking “helped give me reasons for embracing Judaism.”

At present, Beer is a member of the local Israel-advocacy organization, The Committee for Truth and Justice, and of the adult education committee at Congregation Sinai. In these capacities, he is coordinating Prager’s Milwaukee appearances.

Beer said he wanted to bring Prager here partly because of Prager’s thoughts on Judaism, a message that Beer thinks would be “particularly effective for a Reform synagogue.”

But Beer also said that Prager’s positions on Israel are “not held by the majority in the Jewish community.” So “I thought he would be a good speaker to get people to question their assumptions,” Beer said.

Indeed, Prager said in the telephone interview that within the Jewish community there has been a decline in “strong support for Israel” and “more importantly understanding of how significant Israel is to the Jewish people, to America and to the world. That is a case I want to make.”

And while he is planning to discuss the Obama administration and the tendencies of its Middle East positions in the third speech, “my topic is larger than any given president’s policies,” he said.

However, he acknowledged that he has “apprehensions about any administration that feels it is very important for America to be loved around the world, because we will never be loved for supporting Israel.”

As a political and social conservative, Prager belongs to a minority in a Jewish community most of whom is politically and socially liberal.

Moreover, Beer said he discussed having Prager in Milwaukee with members of the College Republicans at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, at least one of whom called Prager “my favorite radio host.”

As a result, said Beer, the UWM College Republicans are helping bring Prager to town; and Prager is scheduled to speak at the UWM Union Ballroom on Thursday, Oct. 15, 7:30 p.m., on “The Moral Case for Conservatism.”

In the telephone interview, Prager summarized his theories about why most U.S. Jews remain liberal. “In a nutshell, Jews have embraced secularism, and secularism is more likely to lead one to liberalism,” he said.

Moreover, “Jews still fear Christianity,” and “Jews viscerally feel that the greatest threat come from the right, not the left. In reality, it’s the opposite. Finally, for many Jews liberal politics have replaced Judaism as their religious commitment,” Prager said.

Such views have made Prager controversial within the Jewish community. However, Beer said that Prager on his radio show often features guests who disagree with him and is “respectful” toward them. “He prefers clarity to agreement.”

To register for the Oct. 17 luncheon, call Congregation Sinai, 414-352-2970. For more information, call the synagogue or contact Beer, 414-241-4207 or jbeer@att.net.