Rabbi Zev Segal, who as president of one of the most influential Orthodox Jewish organizations in the country in the 1960s clashed with leaders of what he called “more liberal Jewish alternatives,” but who also worked with Conservative and Reform Jews on social issues, died Wednesday in Jersey City. He was 91.
Rabbi Segal was found dead after the car he was driving plunged into the Hackensack River as it turned onto a dead-end street. Authorities ruled out foul play.
From 1968 to 1971, Rabbi Segal was president of the Rabbinical Council of America, which represents about 1,000 Orthodox rabbis in 14 countries.
In 1967, when he was a vice president of the council, he criticized secular Jewish organizations for engaging in “religious doctrinal dialogues” with Christians. He said he was not opposed to interfaith exchanges on such issues as race relations, poverty and peace but added: “We are against homogenized religion. Discussion of the deep religious commitments which a faith community holds can only serve to confuse.”
A year later, Rabbi Segal sharply criticized a joint agreement by 60 Conservative and Reform leaders to cooperate in developing a “liberal religious alternative” to Orthodox Judaism in Israel.
In 1970 he called on Protestant and Roman Catholic leaders to join with the rabbinical council in efforts to combat drug abuse. It was the first time a major Orthodox Jewish group had taken the initiative in promoting interfaith cooperation. That year he also sponsored meetings with black and Puerto Rican leaders aimed at encouraging Jews to stay in racially mixed neighborhoods.