At Evangelical School, Reform Rabbi Presses Tolerance for Gay .

LYNCHBURG, Va., April 26 (JTA) -- The band praised Jesus, the pastor prayed for the unsaved and the rabbi preached understanding for gay unions.

In what Jerry Falwell said was a first in the 32 years of his Liberty University, a rabbi helped the controversial televangelist deliver the weekly convocation Wednesday in the packed campus stadium.

But not just any rabbi: Eric Yoffie, leader of the Union of Reform Judaism, who sharply criticized the religious right in an address last November to the Reform movement's biennial convention.

Falwell's invitation was a signal of reconciliation after some difficult times between evangelicals and Jews, all sides conceded.

"To communicate our concerns to their flock is positive," said Abraham Foxman, national director of the Anti-Defamation League, who like Yoffie has led recent Jewish criticism of the evangelical right. "By going there, he did not give a hechsher," or stamp of approval, "to Falwell's views; he gave expression to Falwell's reaching out."

Yoffie's appearance was a salve after a spate of differences over Christian proselytizing of Jews; evangelical enthusiasm for the Hollywood mega-hit "The Passion of the Christ," a film many Jews regarded as anti-Semitic; and Pat Robertson's recent suggestion that God struck down Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in retribution for last summer's Gaza Strip withdrawal.

Yoffie began by emphasizing common ground on issues such as Israel and defending persecuted religious minorities overseas. He earned warm applause when he praised evangelicals for their resolute opposition to what he called "the moral crisis in America."

But he was equally resolute in laying out Reform's fundaments, including church-state separation, a woman's right to be the ultimate arbiter in an abortion and legal protection for gay couples.

"Gay Americans pose no threat to their friends, neighbors or co-workers, and when two people make a lifelong commitment to each other, we believe it is wrong to deny them the legal guarantees that protect them and their children and benefit the broader society," Yoffie said to shocked murmurs, scattered hisses and boos.

Falwell chastised his students, telling them he had never been booed in a synagogue. Aside from that, the reception for Yoffie was warm.

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