By Joel Magalnick, Editor, JTNews
A painful chapter in the history of Seattle’s largest congregation has come to a close. On July 16, Temple De Hirsch Sinai and Rabbi Earl Starr, who led the congregation for 30 years, announced a settlement in their two-year dispute over alleged misuse of money received from a trust fund.
In a letter to the congregation, temple president Stan Piha and Rabbi Starr co-signed a letter announcing that the two parties had reached an agreement “which will permit both parties to proceed with their future endeavors.”
“The time has come for all of us to move on together in the finest traditions of our Faith, and work for tikkun olam,” the letter stated.
Rabbi Starr, who had resigned his emeritus status because of the dispute, will again be able to refer to himself as such. He retired from the synagogue in 2001.
In May 2002, the temple board informed the congregation that Rabbi Starr had misused between $100,000 and $400,000 from the Shemanski Trust Funds, which had been set up for scholarship and interfaith programming. Over 20 years, Starr had allegedly received checks from the foundation separate from money that went directly to the temple.
What that money was used for is still unclear, though at the time former Temple De Hirsch Sinai president Jon Rosen claimed some of the money was spent “for personal use,” according to the Seattle Times, while many of Starr’s supporters believed that the money had been put toward helping others.
During the rabbi’s tenure, he had increased the visibility of the synagogue in the community and been a leader in human rights, interfaith relations and homelessness, causes which still resonate strongly with the congregation today.
Several months after the matter became public, Rabbi Starr, who denied any wrongdoing, said in a written statement that the synagogue’s executive director had known about the arrangement as far back as 1993.
He declined to talk to the Jewish Transcript at the time.
The letter stated that neither party would publicly speak any further about the terms of the settlement, and temple officials said that response has thus far been minimal.
The revelation of Starr’s alleged embezzlement, and some of its members’ disappointment with the way the matter was handled, caused them to break off from the temple and began their own havurah called Rodef Shalom.
Jeff Levy, one of the participants in the loosely bound group, said “I’m very, very pleased the rabbi and synagogue have settled their issues,” but noted that the havurah would continue its monthly gatherings and act as a peaceful place for worship that would include the presence, though not necessarily the leadership, of Rabbi Starr.