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Leaders of Charlotte's Jewish community spoke out against domestic violence Sunday, an issue they say has been too long ignored among Jews.
Nineteen local temples and Jewish agencies are sponsoring an effort to raise awareness, train clergy to recognize abuse and offer women more help.
"Because most of us were raised to believe that strong family relationships and peace in the home are cornerstones of being a Jew, we have assumed domestic abuse isn't a Jewish problem," said Todd Gorelick, president of the Jewish Federation of Greater Charlotte. "But it is."
He and other local leaders said many in the Jewish community keep silent about domestic abuse because of the stigma of being a victim.
Jewish women, they said, may be less likely than many others to seek help and get out of abusive relationships.
Rabbi H. David Rose, a national advocate against domestic abuse, spoke to a crowd of about 50 Sunday night. Rose, who lives outside Washington, came to train Charlotte rabbis.
"To truly fulfill God's promise that we are created equal, man and woman, power and control have no place in our relationships," Rose said.
Rose became involved in fighting domestic abuse in 1993, when he read a letter from a woman in Seattle. She wrote that her rabbi hadn't known how to help her with violence at her home.
He realized he wasn't sure if he knew how to help her, either.
Another factor that makes advocacy in the Jewish community important is its small size and sometimes insular nature, said Marsha Stickler of Shalom Bayit-NC, a domestic abuse support group.
"Especially in a Jewish community this small, domestic abuse is talked about even less," she said. "For this community to take this step is huge."
