Press Release

NAJM Press Release 1:

For Immediate Release Contact:
Deena Kaye/(888) 223-NAJM or (212) 489-0600
September 11, 1997

"And You Shall Heal !" - Eighth Annual Conference on Judaism and Contemporary Medicine "Medical advances for the new Century and their ethical implications" to be held at Rockefeller University.

NNew York -- The Eighth Annual International Conference on Judaism and Contemporary Medicine, jointly sponsored by The State University of New York Health Science Center at Brooklyn (SUNY-HSCB) and the National Association of Judaism and Medicine (NAJM), will be held on Sunday, November 9th at New York City's prestigious Rockefeller University.

The conference, which begins on Friday, November 7th and continues through Sunday, will hold its weekday sessions at the SUNY Health Science Center at Brooklyn. All conference participants are invited to spend Saturday, November 8th, in Brooklyn together with the conference coordinators and designated speakers for a special Shabbat program.

"Each advance in science and medicine brings new hope," notes Dr. Moshe Akerman, Executive Director of NAJM. "But, at the same time, each step forward presents us with new challenges." "It is our duty to confront the ethical questions and the moral ambiguities inherent to progress," he continues, "at the International Conference on Judaism and Contemporary Medicine, we seek to do just that."

Featuring a distinguished panel of physicians, scientists, health administrators and prominent Rabbinic authorities from around the world, the conference will address such topics as Physician Assisted Suicide; Genetic Cloning; Use of Fetal Tissue; Organ Rationing; Spirituality and Recovery; Infertility; and Tobacco Regulation. In addition, a special session will mark the 40th anniversary of the Nuremberg trials, a seminal event in the development of an understanding of what happens when ethical concerns fail to inform medical and scientific activities.

Founded in 1988, NAJM's goal is to provide a forum for discussion of the ethical, moral and legal dilemmas engendered by the ever-expanding range of medical and scientific possibilities. Rooted in the ageless texts of the Jewish tradition, yet open to all approaches, each conference examines anew the ethical challenges of practicing medicine in the modern era.

Each member of NAJM's illustrious advisory board - comprised of renowned physicians and Rabbinic authorities - offers a synergy of experience and expertise that adds to the scope of the issues being addressed. Board members include:

Rabbi Yitzhak Breitowitz, J.D. - Professor of Law, University of Maryland

Mr. Stanley Brezenoff - President, Maimonides Medical Center.

Dr. Hugh Carrol - Professor Emeritus of Medicine, SUNY-HSCB.

Dr. Philip Felig - former Chairman, Department of Medicine, Columbia-Presbyterian Medical Center.

Dr. Eli Friedman - Distinguished Teaching Professor, SUNY-HSCB; Chief, Renal Division, SUNY-HSCB.

Dr. Shimon Glick - Chair, Internal Medicine, Ben Gurion University.

Dr. Velvel Greene - Director, Lord Jacobovitz Center for Jewish Medical Ethics, Ben Gurion University.

Dr. Stephen Kamholz - Chairman, Department of Medicine,SUNY-HSCB; Governor, New York State American College of Physicians.

Dr. Joshua Lederberg - Professor and Raymond and Beverly Sackler Scholar, Rockefeller University; Nobel Prize Laureate.

Dr. Jonathan Moreno - Chairman, Department of Bioethics, SUNY-HSCB.

Dr. Lawrence Resnick - Chief, Division of Hypertension, Wayne State University, Detroit.

Dr. Mark Rosen - Chairman, Pulmonary Intensive Care, Beth Israel Hospital.

Rabbi Immanuel Schochet - Professor of Religion and Philosophy, Humber College - Toronto.

Dr. Alfred Soffer - former Editor-in-Chief, Chest, past Executive Director of American College of Chest Physicians.

Dr. Louis Teichholz - Chief Division of Cardiology, Hackensack University Medical Center.

Rabbi Dr. Abraham Twerski - Medical Director, Gateway Rehabilitation Center, Pennsylvania.