SELECTED REFORM RESPONSA
converted in infancy by the court the right to reject the conversion when it becomes of religious age. Therefore. the convert should receive regular instruction for that purpose and be converted in the regular conversion ceremony.
Considerable background material for each conclusion was provided. These specific recommendations have gone much farther than any other material in providing an orderly and uniform approach to the questions connected with mixed marriages.
A further recommendation was made by a special committee under the leadership of Eugene Mihaly in 1962(“Report of the Special Committee on Mixed Marriage,” CCAR Yearbook, 1962, pp. 86ff). It analyzed the problem and recommended a resolution which would have changed the position of 1909 and permitted rabbis to officiate at mixed marriages. There was considerable debate in which all matters connected with mixed marriage were thoroughly discussed. The substantive portion of the resolution failed, but it was decided to study the matter further and monitor it.
The issue of mixed marriage was raised again in 1971 with a demand for further study which was brought to the floor of the Conference in 1973 through a report under the chairmanship of Herman E. Schaalman(“Report of the Committee on Mixed Marriage,” CCAR Yearbook, 1973, pp. S9ff). In this instance the majority report was accompanied by several minority statements. The entire matter was then subjected to lengthy discussion. The resolution accompanying the report urged that the 1909 statement be reaffirmed and then proposed a series of detailed statements which sought to restrain rabbis officiating at such marriages and coofficiating with Christian clergy. It also dealt with the question of welcoming those who had already entered a mixed marriage as well as their children. The discussion which followed dealt again with every
236