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Purely Commentary

Our schools are better attended today than they
Z have been in many years. There has been considerable
to improvement in the cultural response by American
rn Jewry in support of our schools and for higher
aa
0 institutions of learning. One would imagine that we
CA
to approach panaceas.
at had begun
We thrill when we witness demonstrations of
Pal successful acquisition of knowledge by ouryoung-
sters. .
Yet, as soon as the boys and girls had attained
CA the glories that go with Bar and Bat Mitzvah, and,
cz
w when they are a bit older, the moment they enroll
• in colleges and universities, they forget us very
Ea quickly.
Rosh Hashanah coincides with the return of our
ea youth to their college classes. We'll be wondering
aa
as very soon why they are not responding to the
a-1 appeals of the Hillel Foundations and to other in-
synagogues included.
'at • stitutions—the
We have good cause to be concerned about such
1:14 status of our young people to whom we look to as-
• sume their Jewish responsibilities when they return
a; to their communities as professionals.
as
The problem of our youths' indifference is much
7:1 more serious than most of our people realize, and
;al our leadership appears too weak either to notice
it or to possess the strength to overcome the ob-
stacles.
* * *
We are not shedding crocodile tears. We are
merely deploring an established fact. Even when
there are many young people at some of our Holy
Day services, they, like their elders, are at best
three-day-a-year Jews—their attendance limited to
two days in Reform. ranks. Where are, our people
the balance of the year—and where are our young
men and women when Jewish needs beckon to
them?
This negative note thus struck on the eve of the
holiest days on our calendar does not have its
origin in despair or in panic. We are well aware
that our people will survive many crises; that, even
if only a remnant will survive the losses we may
suffer from abandonment of association with Jewry
or through intermarriage, that. remnant—the shearit
Israel—will hold the banner of cultural and spiritual
Israel aloft.
What disturbs us is that while our youth have
imbibed the most precious principles of our faith,
while they are dedicated to high ideals and to the
most vital humanitarian causes, while they are in
the front ranks of labor, for civil rights, in defense
of the downtrodden, they have begun to look askance
at their own needs. Too many of our youth are
anxious to forget the past. It has been said that the
youth of Israel has broken its ties with the Old
World, with the Shtetel; that they look with con-
tempt upon those who suffered at the hands of the
Nazis and failed to resist; that they can think only in
terms of the heroic, having shared in the struggle
for liberation in their own land.
It is not the same with American young Jews.

An Admonition to Our Youth . . . Not to Forget By Philip
the Past and to Adults: to Assure Strengthen-
ing of Ties wi th Past Through Knowledge Slomovitz

They have other reasons for alienation from the
past and from their parents' associations. It appears
as if that "past" is too strange for them to cherish
it, because they really do not know it and can not
understand it.
It is the alienation, which also causes them to
drift far away from their heritage, that becomes
a matter of deep concern. And it is this estrangement
that we must view with the most serious concern
in this period of stock-taking on our calendar.
* *
Is it possible that even the hurban, even the
horrors of the holocaust that is within the memory
of our generation, is being forgotten?
We are not blaming the youth. The elders, too,
have forgotten! The tragedy is being relegated to a
forgotten past! Our memories are being curtailed!
When, therefore, we deplore the reactions to
Jewish activities by our youth, we blame only our-
selves and we ask: have we failed to transmit to
the young people the meaning of life, the necessity
always to be on guard against our being trapped in
an existence marked by a lack of knowledge of the
events that always carry a threat that history will
repeat itself?
While it is the positive that must motivate our
aims to keep our existence on a dignified plane,
there are always the negative aspects of conditions
which demand that our youth should be well informed
about their people's past, else they will be unable
to face the challenges that arise during critical
periods when we may be under attack.
-- There are differences of opinion relative to the
status of anti-Semitism in this country at this time.
While the civic protective agencies constantly ask
us to be on guard, they are divided on the issue
of whether or not bigotry is on the rise or on the
decline. But the danger of a repeated outburst of
hatred is always on hand, and it is in the interest
of being prepared for the worst while striving for
the best- that we must possess knowledge about past
experiences.
In his exceptionally fine autobiographical work,
"By Quentin Reynolds," (published by McGraw-Hill),
the prominent author and foreign correspondent
sounds a warning against complacency. He calls at-
tention to his not having passed judgments "except
to condemn Adolf Hitler for making a shambles out
of part of the Twentieth Century," and he proceeds
to explain his position:
on
"I don't think that history will contradict me
that score. But one never knows. When I was an
undergraduate I was taught that Machiavelli was an
evil and cynical prophet who believed that reform
could only be achieved by violence, and order only
imposed by fear of the superman who ran the state.
His thinking, of course, later became personified by
Hitler, arid 'Mein Kampf' is little more than a modern
and badly written version of 'The Prince.' Yet in re-
cent years many philosophers have defended Machia-
velli as the supreme realist, the prophet of Realpoli-
tik and the champion of the unitarian state. The

extreme views of ultra right wing organizations in our
country to the effect that democratic liberalism must
always prove a weakness in the state might have
stemmed from Machiavelli. And his tomb is honored-
by the Florentines of today.
"In some parts of the world neo-fascist movements
are attracting some support. Will the philosophers
eventually try to persuade us there was something to
say for Hitler after all?
"It has happened before, -notably in the case of
Alexander the Great, who, after subduing the Greek
States (and destroying Thebes in the process), con-
quered Asia by acts of extreme violence and cruelty
on a scale never seen before. Yet even Aristotle, the
most clear-thinking of all the philosophers, made
excuses for the inhuman warrior king by saying that
Alexander's complete dictatorship was the form of
government best suited to the backward Macedonian
people. Plutarch too expressed his admiration for the
reckless courage of Alexander, and attributed to him
an almost mystic quality of greatness. Perhaps one
day Hitler will find his Aristotle or his Plutarch.
It is a depressing thought. . . ."

It is to avoid these depressing thoughts but also
to be able to understand history's rotations that we
plead for an understanding of the events that dark-
ened humanity's skies in recent decades so as to be
prepared at all times to aspire to and to fight for
better days.
* * *
Unfortunately, the preparation for the days ahead
are meager. Already we are told to forget. It is not
enough to forgive: we are told to forget. William L.
Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich" cer-
tainly exposes the horrors of Nazism in all their
brutal colors, yet Shirer believes that Hitler was
"a genius," and such a designation may rub off on
a future generation. Thus, there may be trouble
ahead! Quentin Reynolds' admonition need not be
taken too lightly!
It is not Hitlerism alone that threatens our ex-
istence. There are other matters, including the chal-
lenges that go with Jewry's status as a minority
faith, with the temptations that emanate from strange
cults, with the lures that go with the increasing
number of mixed marriages, and, more dangerously,
with the indifference that causes allegiance to
Jewish values to be reduced to a minimum.
If there is to be any planning at all on the New-
Year 5724, let it be in the direction of our youth.
Let there be a more serious undertaking than ever
before to bring our young people closer to us. Let
us provide for them every available means for acqui-
sition of knowledge about our heritage. If we do not
assure it, our problems will multiply, we may lose
our most valuable manpower, and an aleady impov-
erished status will reduce Jewry to greater decline.
Let us avoid it by training our youth to be a well-
informed constituency. Then we shall be assured that
nezakh Israel lo yeshaker—that the glories of Israel
shall not be betrayed.

UJA Miracle: Life, Hope and Future for 190,000 Children

whelming majority go home cap- Africa and the Middle East.
All over the world, something Agency offers the only school- able of holding jobs and earning
There is no doubt that in
ing
available
to
2,000
immigrant
miraculous happens to children
the
depressed areas of the
a
-living.
whose lives are touched by the adolescents from age 14 up.
the picture for youth
world,
There
are
other
kinds
of
han
The Jewish Agency-sponsored
United Jewish Appeal. They
is
brightened
in proportion to
dicapped
children
whom
.JDC-
Technical Clubs attract another
come alive!
Malben aids — cerebral palsied, the expenditure of WA funds.
3,000
boys
and
girls
from
eight
In Morocco, one hot meal a
blind and deaf children, and The Moslem countries are in-
victims of polio. All are helped variably pointed out as prime
day can do it; in Israel, a up, after school.
chance to go to school and a UJA dollars are also needed by technical assistance and do- cases of abject 'poverty in a
quiet corner in which to study; for JDC aid to youth in Israel. nations to institutions and spe- huge Jewish population. And
yet it is in these backward
in France, escape from terrible Through its subvention to ORT, cial projects for their care.
The challenge is being met, countries that the JDC has
city slums to a summer camp. the JDC plays a substantial and
Whatever the program, a touch significant role in promoting in part, by substituting youth had some of its greatest suc-
centers, scout troops and slim- cesses -with children. The
of UJA help, and before one's vocational training.
Both the -ORT and the Yesh- mer camps, for street corners school feeding program which
very eyes, the children come
it conducts, for instance, goes
to life! You could almost call iva programs in Israel are par- and dark alleys.
In 1963 more than 24,000 far beyond the mere fact of
them "instant people." And it's ticularly vital to youth because
all done with money and love. they substitute for secondary needy Jewish children enjoyed a hot meal served daily to
It has been estimated that schooling, which in Israel is not summer vacations of 3 weeks 34,400 children in the can-
out of every three persons who fare. There are nearly 8,000 and 2 months in 116 camps in teens of more than 200 JDC-
receive UJA help, one is- acnald boys in 102 JDC-supported Yesh- 13 countries of Europe, North subsidized schools. The food
or a youth under eighteen. So ivoth alone.
For the Joint Distribution
of the 575,000 Jewish men,
Committee
working in France
and
children
for
whom
w - Ornen
with
UJA
funds,
one heavy prob-
UJA requires $96,000,000 this
year, some 190,000 young peo- lem is how to keep these chil-
dren from drifting into the dan-
ple have an enormous stake.
In Israel, bursting at the gerous, aimless existence of a
seams with new immigration, "lost generation."
Perhaps one of the most
UM aid is channeled pri-
rewarding accomplishments in
marily through the Jewish
the field of self-suport is JDC-
Agency, but also through JDC-
Malben's model Rehabilitation
Malben, and the JDC-subven-
Center in Jerusalem, for men-
tioned Yeshivoth and ORT
tally retarded adolescents. It
programs.
For these programs, for the takes three years and infinite
many thousands of scholar- patience to train the young-
ships to high schools 'and for sters — all welfare cases from
the financing of vocational train- among the new tide of immi-
ing, the Jewish Agency will grants, and all with IQ's as
hopefully receive $1,699,500 of low as 50 to 80.
UJA funds, solely for direct aid
But most of them prove edu-
cable and trainable. Along with
to immigrant youth.
13
Jewish Agency Youth Centers elementary schooling; the girls
and various Youth Clubs involve are taught to be seamstresses
At Lydda Airport, a member of Israel's Women's Army
and house workers; the boys
at least 15,000 children.
care to one of Israel's
In 20 Youth Centers, largely have a choice of good, saleable Corps—CHEN—is shown giving tender
•
'
in • development •areas; • the trades•.. On ,graduat4ng, -an•over most precious -imports.

----

- ,

itself may cost little in cash,
as the U.S. Department of
Agriculture ships many mil-
lions of pounds of food for
needy countries under its
"Food - for - Peace" program.
Undernourishment is the worst
enemy of poor children; it
makes them easy prey to dis-
ease. The nourishing meal at
school can be the only one these
youngsters will get in a day,
home conditions being what they
are.
For the Jewish children re-
patriated to Poland, camping
meant living with other Jewish
children, learning Jewish songs,
history, customs, traditions. It
was an unforgettable experience
for more than 3,000 Polish chil-
dren, and WA will never be
forgotten for having made it
possible. Other camps were in
Sweden, Austria, Germany, Bel-
gium, Greece, Italy, Portugal,
Spain and Australia.
The most radical aspect of
ORT's African program is that
girls are trained in a Moslem
world which for centuries has
considered learning to be man's
sphere. Despite this, a girls'
school has been built up in Cas-
ablanca, and is attended by 350
who came from the hills, the
desert and towns, to live dormi-
tory-style and learn a trade.
Everything pertaining to child
welfare is centered around the
JDC-supported school in North
ce Africa. Health clinics are
held here; there are facilities
for bathing; clothing is distrib-
uted. Last year 53,000 children
received the precious gift of new
shoes and garments.

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