Pate 6

DPW JEWISH CHRONICLE and

mi..

Legal enrvmdis

Friday, December 15, 1944

-:- ACTION FOR JEWISH EDUCATION

A Program for American Jewry

By EDWARD E. GRUSD

EDITOR'S NOTE:—This article, by the managing editor of The
National Jewish Monthly, published by Bnai Brith, is based
on a series of four articles written for The National Jewish
Monthly by Ben Rosen, executive director of the American
Association for Jewish Education. Despite its controversial
material, it deals with a subject of such importance to the
Jewish community that The Detroit Jewish Chronicle is pub-
lishing it as a service to the community and to help guide it
in its thinking. Without necessarily endorsing the opinions
expressed, we urge our readers to study its contents carefully,
with a view to evaluating whether or not its suggestions might
be usefully adopted in Detroit.

Can Orthodox, Conservative,
and Reform leaders work to-
gether toward a solution of the
Jewish education problem in this
country? If they do, they will
have an excellent chance of suc-
ceeding; but if the three groups
and the innumerable organiza-
tions in the field continue to go
its separate way, then Jewish
education will sink to lower and
lower levels until American
Jewry is threatened by an ignor-
ance of its own inheritance which
may prove more deadly to its
survival than even anti-Semitism.
• These are the opinions of an
expert on the subject: Ben Ros-
en executive director of the
American Association for Jewish
Education. In a series of four
articles in The National Jewish
Monthly published by Bnai Brith,
he outlines the extent of the in-
adequacy of American Jewish ed-
ucation today, and in the final
article, which will appear in The
Monthly's forthcoming December
issue, he makes five specific sug-
gestions for action to avert what
might be i• future catastrophe.
Mr. Rosen does not suggest
that either the Orthodox or the
Reform need sacrifice any of

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their principles in forging an
instrument of unity for the pro-
motion of Jewsh education. But
he indicates the many activities
they could profitably undertake
jointly, and shows that divided
they are both weak, while united
on a common program they have
the resources to accomplish what
some people believe to be a mir-
acle.
In his articles, Mr. Rosen points
out that although destruction of
European Jewry has shifted world
Jewish leadership to this country,
only one out of three of our
children of elementary school
age attends a Jewish school of
any kind at any given time. Less
than one out of 10 of our teen-
age young people belongs to any
Jewish club or youth group of
any kind, and in the Army the
majority of the half million Jew-
ish soldiers are neither Orthodox
nor Reform, but simply complete-
ly ignorant from a Jewish educa-
tional point of view. And the
quality of the Jewish instruction
received by many of the 33 per
cent who do get it is so poor that
it is scarcely better than none
at all.
Mr. Rosen describes a bewilder-
ing variety of agencies which are
partially or wholly engaged in
furthering Jewish education in
America. They include, on the
national level alone, the Union
of American Hebrew Congrega-
tions, United Synagogue, Union
of Orthodox Congregations,
Workmen's Circle, Jewish Nation-
al Workers Alliance, Sholem
Aleichem Fold Institute, United
Yeshiveth Foundation, Mizrachi,
Agudath Israel, Z.O.A., Hadassah,
J.W.B., Histadruth Ivrith, Bnai
Brith, Jewish Chatauqua Society,
National Council of Jewish Wom-
en, and a host of other lay
groups, plus professional organl-

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zations, and local clubs. It looks viction that there is nothing that and discussion. Is American Jew-
impressive, on the surface, but the Jews of this country can do ry sufficiently mature to tackle
in Mr. Rosen's words, "there is which equals in importance the this most vital problem and at
a crying need to harness all these maintenance and development of least try to solve it?
forces, lay and professional, to its educational system. Unless
deal more adequately with the this educational work is gener-
total problem of Jewish educa- ously supported, everything else
They who suffer insults and
tion."
for which we may strive will do not return them, who
are
How to do it? In his forth- L ive been in vain."
shamefully treated and yet do
coming December article, Mr.
Later, Mr. Marshall expressed not strike back, who suffer sil-
Rosen makes five specific sug- the hope that American Jewry ently and without a murmur—
gestions, all based on the assump- would launch a united national are blessed; for it is said that
tion that Orthodox, Conservative, campaign to raise enough money they are the friends of the Lord
and Reform elements will have to support Jewish education, and they shall, shine in glory
as
the vision to lay aside their tra- which he described as "the great- the morning sun.
ditional disunity long enough to
agree on a minimum program. est need of the Jewish commun-
Here, briefly, are Mr. Rosen's pro- ity." Mr. Rosen thinks the time
posals:
has come today to revive Louis
1. That each of the major na-
Marshall's basic proposal. In fact,
tional agencies engaged either
directly or indirectly in pro- Mr. Rosen goes further. He
moting or maintaining pro- makes this concrete suggestion:
grams of Jewish education, be
"The problem is of suffi-
encouraged to launch inde- cient importance to merit the
pendent fund - raising cam- calling of a national confer-
paigns to meet adequately ence, carefully and democrat-
their budgetary needs.
ically planned and convened,
2. That a united campaign be to serve as a springboard for
A Joyous Chanukah to All!
conducted, in behalf of those full public discussion, and fin-
agencies agreeing to cooper- ally—action."
ate, similar in principle to the
Hammerstein's
The deficiencies of Jewish edu-
United Jewish Appeal.
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3. That on the local level, a cation in this country are be-
campaign be instituted for yond dispute. So is their gravity
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educational purposes, supple- for the future of us all. Whether
menting the present alloca- Mr. Rosen's proposals should be
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Townsend 8.0662
accepted and implemented is, of
fund-raising agencies.
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These suggestions all concern course, a matter for conjecture
funds. Mr. Rosen's other two
ti
ideas to do with the actual pro-
gram of Jewish education itself:
4. There is need for a national
Jewish education consultative
council, made up of lay and
professional representatives of
national agencies and com-
munities. The American As-
sociation for Jewish education
is such an organization, but
it may or may not be the best
for this purpose.
5. There should be set up in
each local community of suffi-
cient size a centrOl education-
al agency, bureau, or commit-
tee. Its functions cannot be
performed by a single congre-
gation, nor even by represen-
tatives of a specific grouping
.of schools, such as the Ortho-
dox group, or the Reform
We extend sincere good wishes for a
group. It should deal with
Jewish education not only in
Chanukah filled with happiness and
the schools, but for all age
blessed with full measure of prosperity
groups.
Sonic of the things which could
and may these wishes continue to find
be accomplished by this kind of
fulfillment into the many years beyond.
unity are the providing of tuition
for poor students; granting of
financial subsidies to schools
which need improvement of stand-
CHARLES H. LOTT
ards; training of teachers; initia-
General Manager
tion of inter-school activities;
provision of secondary Jewish
education; stimulation of adult
Jewish education; development of
texts and materials and new pro-
jects; extension education, elim-
DETROIT. MICHIGAN
inaton of friction and duplica-
tion, and many other constructive
CASS—BAGLEY
actions now sorely needed. On
such matters it is perfectly log-
ical for Jews 'of all ideologies to
work together, Mr. Rosen insists,
and between them they have the
resources, both financial and man-
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power, to do a great job. But at
present, these resources are not
pooled in any way.
A few years before his death,
Louis Marshall wrote Mr. Rosen
a little-known letter which is
quoted in his final article. In it,
the late leader of American
Jewry wrote:
"Great as has beep =rise my
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