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THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS — Fr iday, March 17, 196 1 —
Purely Commentary
A Day School Problem: Federation's Aid and Policies
"Due to a financial breakdown," Yeshivath Beth Yehudah
Day School suspended operations for two days. It reopened
yesterday. The Jewish Welfare Federation, which has been the-'
target of the school's leadership for several years, Caine to its aid
by advancing it the sum of $10,000—an advance five-month allow-
ance on the allocation the Yeshivah receives for the afternoon
school. It is assumed that this sum will now instead be applied for
the operation of the day school.
On this basis, the problem remains unresolved. It remains .a
community issue.
Prior to the generous act of the Federation, whose presi-
dent, Max M. Fisher, never failed to give ear to the Yeshivah's
requests, a public-spirited committee headed by David Gold-
berg, the dedicated leader with a good heart and a deep devo-.
tion for all Jewish traditional needs, sought a way to solve the
problem. Goldberg's committee suggested that an assessment
be imposed upon the parents of the day school pupils. Yeshivah's
spokesman did not feel that it is a solution. Rabbi Morris
Greenes maintained that it only postpones a solution, that upon
the exhaustion of the assessment the school would again return
to its original needs, and that it is useless to perpetuate a
problem.
The implication is clear. It is based on the claims of .Yeshi-
vah spokesmen that the Jewish Welfare Federation should allo-
cate additional Allied Jewish Campaign funds for the support
of the day school.
Meanwhile negotiations are in progress for the integration
of the Yeshivah afternoon school into the recognized communal
school system—the United Hebrew Schools—thus eliminating
part of the problem, as it might affect the afternoon classes,
leaving the day school on its own.
While it is regrettable that this should have become a
public issue during a difficult Allied Jewish Campaign period,
perhaps it should be welcomed even at this point, and all efforts
should be exerted to bring it to a final solution.
The Yeshivah has stated that "it is now up to the community
whether the day school will continue to render the outstanding
service to the youth of Detroit which it has given up to now."
Unpleasant as it may sound, the term "community" must be
defined.. The Yeshivah is not an affiliate of the Jewish. Welfare
Federation, whereas the United Hebrew Schools are supported
as the recognized Jewish community school_ system. If, as it is
hoped, the afternoon school of the Yeshivah will become a part
of the United Hebrew Schools, the day school will be left on its
own; and since Federation does not at present support day
schools, the Yeshivah must perforce admit that by "community"
is meant the orthodox community that desires the type of
school, supplementary to our established Jewish school system,
as is represented in the day school idea.
If this is accepted as logical and realistic, the Yeshivah Day
School will have to conduct a campaign of its own among its
adherents for the continuation of the school. Since the Yeshi-
vah has constantly and consistently conducted fund-raising cam-
paigns, this will certainly not be a new experience.
Whether or not the day school eventually will be made a
part of the community fund-raising . effort—the Allied Jewish
Campaign—must depend upon the over-all decision on the
matter of including day schools into our community programs,
what type of day schools they are to be; or whether we are
to adhere to the presently-preferred community viewpoint of
a public school system for our children, with after-public-school
sessions supplying the Jewish educational program.
The decisions must be reached by negotiation—and that
takes time—time to be allocated preferably not during the
serious business of seeking the funds necessary in the over-all
set-up represented by our Allied Jewish Campaign. But whatever
agreement is to be reached must be decisive: either day schools
will become a part of our accepted Jewish educational system,
or the existing independent schools, which are conducted on a
full-day basis, will remain on their own, seeking support from
"the community" that considers *it: vital .to. its needs. Having
brought the matter to a head, anything involving conflicts over
the system of schooling we are to support should be ended as
speedily as possible. A few extra dollars to a school in need,
given it from time to time, as is the present status of the Yeshi-
vah, merely retains the problem as a festering sore. Let it either
be healed or left on its own.
In carrying on the negotiations, there must be a sense of
dignity. Yeshivah's appeals have been heard for nearly tr years
by the Federation, and both the exclusion of day schools from
Allied Jewish Campaign support and the retention of autonomy
by the Yeshivah are not new developments. To threaten- picketing
and a "mass march" on Federation offices, at this time, is
approaching a travesty on communal relations.
In the discussion of day schools, the current- national issue
over parochial and private schools is relevant to the
Rabbis and laymen are strongly supporting President Ken-
nedy's stand upholding the church-state separation idea. A group
of New York rabbis this week emphasized their view that "the
public school system is a major bulwark of democracy."
American Jewry, in backing the President's stand on the school
issue, adheres to a policy of staunchly defending the public school
system.
Individuals have a perfect right to send their children wherever
they please, and they have a perfect right to establish day schools.
It is yet to be resolved, however, whether a community must in
its entirety commit itself to such a program,_ or whether those
desiring a day school system should. not, instead, be expected to
finance such an idea for their own children.
This Commentator has held the view that the separation idea
is sacred, that it applies to our schools as much as it does to
government-functioning agencies and to government itself. There-
fore, he cannot accept 'a substitute for the public school system
as a communal obligation. It becomes a private matter, involving
private preferences, to be supported by private funds. The com-
munity must reach its decision whether it is prepared to deviate
from such a policy, which has bcome our organized community's
position.
Is 'Separation' Principle
Relevant to Jewish
Day School Issue?
By Philip Teachers Strike
SIOMOViti
'When Good Fellows Get Together'---Outside Spheres
of Government—at Two Types of Cars
Prime Minister Hendrik F. Verwoerd of South Africa (left
in the accompanying photograph) was in London for the Corn-
monwealth Prime Ministers Conference last week. Also in at-
tendance was Federal Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa
Balewa of Nigeria. Both are shown greeting each other cordially.
Verwoerd is primarily responsible for the apartheid policy
which divides white, black and brown people in South Africa.
He has been picketed by anti-apartheid demonstrators while
in Great Britain, and last year he was wounded in an attempt on
his life in his country. But when away from home, when colored
people do not affect his political or social life, Verwoerd greets
the Nigerian with a smile.
It reminds us of a cartoon that appeared several years ago
to illustrate the East-West conflict at the United Nations. Repre-
sentatives of the Soviet Union, the United States, Canada, Great
Britain and France were shown at the bar, in the UN Building,
arms interlinked, friendly and cordial. Then, having gulped down
their drinks, they said: "Now, let's go back to the General
Assembly hall and cut each other's throats."
We could think only of that cartoon when we saw the
photograph reproduced here, because: if white and black can be
friendly at a Prime Ministers' conference in London, why not
also in Johannesburg or in Bulawayo, Southern Rhodesia, or
anywhere else, where there are mixtures of white, black and
brown populations? Why apartheid anywhere, at any time? The
answer lies in the slowness of humans to recognize that the
human in human nature ds as important as nature itself. Mean-
while the synonyms for apartheid are tragedies and cruelties,
and we must wait for time to end apartheid. Unfortunately,
in the process blood usually is shed.
International progress, however, already has brought whites
and blacks together at public diplomatic functions. That means
that the bigotries are beginning to vanish. That means that
all elements of apartheid already are becoming unacceptable.
That means the coming of the day of justice for all.
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Ben-Gurion and U.S. Jewry: Our Social Status
Raises. Problems
for Israel Pupils
JERUSALEM, (JTA)—Plans
for broadcasting school lessons
for the 30,000 high school, stu-
dents left idle by the strike of
Israel's secondary school teach-
ers were being considered by
the Ministry of Education.
The strike, which closed the
high schools is expected to be
of long duration. Education
Ministry officials were weighing
a program of broadcast lessons
which the students could follow
from their homes so that they
would nbt lose too much time.
Officials saw little hope for
settlement of the strike before
the end of the school term.
High school students in Tel
Aviv, Jerusalem and Haifa were
reported to be organizing them-
selves into study groups to pre-
pare themselves, as best they
could, for the term examina-
tions.
Previously reports from Tel
Aviv cited. an Education Min-
istry official as promising the
Knesset, I s r a e s Parliament,
that students in secondary
schools would not lose credit
for a semester's work if the
teachers' strike continues until
the end of the current term.
Ami Assaf, Deputy Education
Minister, said that the Govern-
ment would make arrangements
for final examinations for such
students if the strike was an
extended one. The assurance
was given in reply to urgent
motions to debate the situation
created by the strike.
The secondary school teach-
ers, who split away from the
Teachers Union in the Hista-
drut, Israel's labor federation,
demanded conditiGns which
would give them more recogni-
tion as holders of academic
degrees, as compared with ele-
mentary school teachers in the
Histadrut union.
Although Israel has no
public secondary school sys-
tem and such schools are
under private auspices, the
Government does have a
s t a k e in such education
t h r o u g h scholarships and
partial suport for needy sec-
ondary school students.
One of the problems Govern-
ment peacemak ,:rs face is the
fear that if secondary school
teachers win pay increases
"higher than those recommended
by a . special commission, or
acceptable to the H i s t a d r u t
teachers union, the victor y
would set in motion a wave of
similar demands by other
teachers employed either by
the national government or by
municipalities.
The Education Ministry offi-
cial also' told the Knesset that
his Ministry would not permit
reopening of schools under pri-
vate arrangements between par-
ents and teachers by which the
parents would pay higher tui-
tion fees to make p o s s i b l e
teacher salary increases.
David Ben-Gurion spoke again last week. He addressed the
Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel and expressed
the view that for American Jews "being attached to a synagogue
is more a social than a religious affair."
There really is nothing wrong in being a social entity, and
there are very few religious groups whose affiliations with re-
ligious communities are devoid of social attachments.
Therefore, we are not offended when the recently-retired
Prime Minister of Israel said we were "irreligious."
Actually, too much fuss is being made over every challenge
uttered by B-G. If a rabbi had said 'what he did—and rabbis
have a right_ to complain about Jewry's indifference in matters
synagogual—they'd find it difficult to get a hearing. The poor
rabbis! Lucky Ben-Gurion! Everything HE says has publicity
value.
That doesn't. always_put B-G•in the right: For instance, when
he said that many American 4ews-:"do not .know what being a
Jew means," he was generalizing unnecessarily. Aren't there Physicist Yoe! Rakah
many people in many faiths Who.do not know what their affilia-
tion means? There must be some Israelis who do not know what Is Chosen Rector of
an Israeli means. Furthermore, B-G's interpretation of the
meaning of Jewishness undoubtedly differs from that given by Hebrew University
Many Jewish scholars. So, we say to B-G: let us continue to
JERUSALEM, (JTA)—Italian-
differ! And we do not begrudge you the publicity—as long as it
born Prof. Yoel Rakah; 52, a
won't hurt us and our kinsmen in Israel.
world-famous physi cis t, was
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elected rector of the Hebrew
University. He succeeds Dr. Bin-
Bilingual Congressional Printer
yamin Mazar, who resigned.
The Congressional Printer has become bi-lingual. Once again,
The new rector, who settled
he inserted a Hebrew line used as part of the prayer offered
in Palestine in 1931, has been
by Rabbi Judah Nadich, of the Park Avenue Synagogue, New professor
of theoretical physics
York, in opening the session of the U. S. House of Representatives
Hebrew University since 1939
on March 6. Hebrew has become imbedded in our American tra- at
and served as the dean of the
ditions—through Scriptures, which become the property of the uni- faculty
of sciences from 1946. to
verse, in translation. Now the Holy Tongue's characters are in 1948. He also has taught at the
their original frequently in the Congressional Record.
University of Pisa and the Uni-
If, as the non-Jew, Edmund Clarence Stedman, wrote in versity of Florence. He was a
1892 in his "Nature and Elements of Poetry,"—"It has been guest member of the Institute
said of the Hebrew language that its every word is a poem"— for Advanced Study at Princeton
then the bilingualism of the Congressional Printer may be part University in Princeton, N.J., in
1950 and 1951.
of his poetic nature.