Rabbi Earl L. Kaplan; Temple Beth Israel Leader

Rabbi Earl L. Kaplan, 46, religious leader of Temple Beth Israel in Pomona who also was at the forefront of the refusenik movement assisting Jews trying to flee the Soviet Union. In 1981, children at his synagogue “adopted” a family of refuseniks, sending them cards and messages of cheer. The subsequent attention is believed to have led to their being granted an exit visa in 1987. In 1989, Kaplan visited Moscow, Rome and Vienna on a fact-finding mission to assess the problems facing Jews wishing to relocate. Kaplan came to Temple Beth Israel in 1981 after serving as rabbi/educator of University Synagogue, Los Angeles. In Claremont on Friday of an apparent heart attack.