Many representative of Orthodox Judaism, and especially its fundamentalist adherents, claim that freedom and diversity are bad for the Jews. They resist pluralism in Jewish life and reject the right of Jews, both as individuals and as communities, to express their Jewish identity in accordance with their own consciences. Pluralism is not a threat to that survival, but its guarantee. Secular Humanistic Judaism, which embraces pluralism, has an important role to play in Jewish continuity. No single belief system or lifestyle can win the allegiance of all Jews.
Jewish history is witness to the positive force of diversity.
Where diversity and personal freedom exist, there is more Jewish creativity and more opportunity for Jews to find their place within the Jewish people. The issue of pluralism and individual freedom goes beyond mere survival. The quality of Jewish survival is as important as the fact of survival. That quality demands the guarantee of human rights to all people, including the right of personal and cultural freedom. Rigid and narrow views about the nature of Jewish identity are dangerous, especially now, when we are experiencing the liberation of Soviet Jewry, its cultural renaissance and the emigration to Israel and other countries.