Jews Urged to Expand Minority Contacts : Demographics: The new head of the Jewish Federation Council says Southland’s changing ethnic diversity requires new and strengthened ties to Latinos, Asians, blacks.

Southern California’s changing ethnic diversity will require Jews to reach out to Asians and Latinos and to rebuild ties to the black community in the coming decade, the new president of the Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles said.

Terry Bell, who recently became the second woman to head the federation in its 81-year history, said that not only is there a traditional Jewish obligation to care for others but the region’s demographic changes also require it.

“We will be an even smaller minority in years to come,” Bell, a longtime Los Angeles resident and activist, said in an interview. “This city will be heavily Hispanic. We had better work together and become part of their thinking.”

Of the 14.6 million people in the six-county Southern California region, 33% are Latino, according to the 1990 Census. Another 9% are Asian and 8% are black. By the year 2010, the Southern California Assn. of Governments projects a total population of 21 million people, of which 42% will be Latino, 12% Asian and 8% black. The six counties are Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside, San Bernardino, Imperial and Ventura.

Bell’s concern echoes that of other prominent Jewish leaders, including Rabbi Arthur Hertzberg, an author who writes about Jewish history in America. Hertzberg said that Jews can no longer appeal to “guilt” among non-Jews over the Holocaust to further Jewish causes.

New generations of Americans as well as non-Jewish immigrants, particularly those from Asia, do not necessarily feel guilty over the Holocaust, in which more than 6 million Jews were systematically murdered by the Nazis during World War II.

To win political support, Hertzberg recently told audiences in Los Angeles, Jews must become more involved in minority causes and justice issues. Bell said she agreed.

“There’s no word for charity in Hebrew. It’s justice ( tzedakah )--and justice is something that (means) someone has an equal chance,” she said.

“I think the Holocaust cannot be the driving force and should not be the driving force. To me, part of being Jewish is an obligation to take care of others, not only other Jews--which may be primary--but to take care of others in the community. We have to support the entire community (or) we’re not secure,” Bell said.

Nearly 500 organizations are affiliated with the federation, which supports humanitarian needs in Los Angeles and in Israel and 35 other countries. Its outreach includes services to non-Jewish people and organizations. Bell, along with newly appointed Executive Vice President John R. Fishel, oversees a community services budget of $100 million.

The amount that the federation raises for humanitarian causes in Los Angeles, Israel and in 35 other nations is second only to contributions raised here by United Way.

But Bell said “extra efforts” are needed to renew ties between Jews and blacks and to forge new alliances with Asians and Latinos. “We had very good relations with blacks. We built some bridges. Some of those are still in place,” she said.

Reaching out to those groups while continuing to meet mounting social service needs within the Jewish community will be difficult in view of the economic turndown, Bell said.

The federation’s fund raising through its United Jewish Fund has not increased in the last two years because of the economic climate--a problem faced by other charitable organizations. In the current year, $50 million was raised by the fund. Donations are running at least 10% behind pledges--twice the usual shrinkage. Many who made large pledges in good faith, especially those in the hard-hit real estate industry, now find that they are unable to keep them, Bell said.

Another $15 million was raised separately for Operation Exodus, a program to enable Jewish immigrants from the former Soviet Union to go to Israel.

At the same time, demands for financial assistance, family services, immigrant assistance and other programs are higher than ever.

To make ends meet, Bell said, the federation’s staff was cut by 25% six months ago. Other cost savings are being realized by paring down “frills” that usually accompany fund-raising efforts, said Bell, a trustee of the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and immediate past president of Wilshire Boulevard Temple, one of the largest Reform synagogues in the United States.