Blacks, Jews Urged to ‘Heal Wounds’

NEW YORK — In a resolution by its policy-making board, the Union of American Hebrew Congregations urged blacks and Jews to “condemn extremists in their midst” and undertake “additional programs of dialogue and conciliation.”

Declaring that black-Jewish relations have fallen to their lowest point in history, the Reform Judaism group urged “healing the wounds that have been opened by the sad events of the recent past,” a reference to black-Jewish tensions in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn.

The Rev. Jesse Jackson encouraged the resolution, telling the Jewish group: “We have common enemies and we are vulnerable when divided. But we are a powerful force for good when we work together toward the goals we share.”