What does  “Jewish community” mean to you?  The question is at the heart of both a recent story in the Jewish Daily Forward about the dismissal of a longtime Jewish newspaper executive in Washington D.C., and  an exciting new Jewish Light venture announced on the front page today.

Debra Rubin was recently let go as the editor of the Washington Jewish Week, a privately-owned independent Jewish news organization covering the nation’s capital.  The publication (patronizingly referred to as “small” in Nathan Guttman’s Forward article of March 2), had recently been purchased by an ownership consortium with strong ties to the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and other Jewish institutions.

Rubin had been editor since 1999, is well known and respected in Jewish news circles, and has  long been quite active in the American Jewish Press Association. In the Forward’s article, the suggestion by unnamed sources is that the new owners wanted a direction and editorial focus more closely aligned with Federation goals, and objected to reported content critical of that institution.

Without full and honest comment from the owners – four of whom did not respond and one of whom could not be reached – it is difficult to make categorial assumptions about their intent (though the paper’s chief operating officer denied the allegations about why Rubin was let go).

No one could properly question the rights of private owners to operate a news organization as they see fit, as long as the practices are lawful.  But that conclusion only addresses a tiny portion of the questions raised by this episode.

A far more substantial issue, and the one that plays most significantly to our role in your St. Louis Jewish community, is this: Is it important for you to have a place in the community where diverse viewpoints about all things Jewish, including the Federation and all else, can be heard?

We understand full well the value of a Jewish Federation to a local Jewish community and its component institutions.  Over 60 years ago, our own publication was created as a public relations vehicle for the Federation and though we’ve been wholly independent for the past four decades, we today continue to receive an allocation from the Federation (about 8 percent of our overall budget).

It would be disingenuous of us to receive Federation funding and not support the campaign that raises funds for Jewish organizations. But that doesn’t mean we agree with each and every action of the Federation, any more than we do of any other of the dozens of Jewish community agencies in town. In fact, last winter when we urged the community to contribute to the then-challenged Federation campaign, we opined that this support was distinct from the question of how the Federation allocates its funds, and we reserved that discussion for a different day.

More broadly, however, we provide a framework – in the newspaper, online, in social media – for local Jews to offer their opinions and perspectives on all things Jewish. This opportunity to be heard across the wide spectrum of our community – from observant to unafiliated, synagogues to welfare agencies, fortunate to disadvantaged – is in our opinion a huge part of what we do at the Light to help nurture and build community.

This engagement is at the heart of our new project, Can We Talk?, a collaboration with the Jewish Community Center and the Jewish Community Relations Council (see page 1). This exciting project will enable us to provide critical, monthlong insight into key issues in our community, combined with  speaker and discussion sessions at the JCC. Providing open, honest and constructive dialogue about topics of import, though we may disagree, is the best way in our opinion to promote and build community.

There are those who disagree, to be sure. We receive letters and comments from some who believe that ‘negative’ opinions contribute to the unraveling of community fiber.

We don’t see it that way.  Any so-called community that is not strong enough to survive the expression and distribution of a wide variety of opinions is probably not much of a community at all.  If we can’t engage in civil discourse; if we can’t express our opinions; if we can’t agree to disagree; if we can’t come together to both build consensus and recognize differences, then our community is lessened for it.

The failure to encourage continued open dialogue is the shame of the Washington Jewish Week story. Our desire to promote it is the promise of our Can We Talk? series.  You’re the ones who will tell us which is the more healthy way to retain, reinforce and promote community for St. Louis Jews.