Sephardim Concerned by Arson
Attempt in Synagogue in Spain
Need for
General
Knowledge in
Jewish
Schools
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A Weekly Review
Editorial
Page 4
Michigan's Only English-Jewish Newspaper
Yoi. L, No. 6
LONDON (JTA)—World Sephardi Federation officials expressed concern
over the fact that three men who set fire to a synagogue in Barcelona, Spain,
in August had still not been found by Spanish police.
Reports from Barcelona indicated that there was little likelihood of
apprehending them. The synagogue, which suffered damage to its doors and
windows, houses both the Sephardi and Ashkenazi congregations of Barcelona.
Gasoline-soaked copies of the London Times were used to fire the synagogue.
The Sephardi Federation wrote to the President of the Barcelona Jewish
Community, expressing "deep regret that those responsible for this outrage
had not yet been caught." The letter noted that the arson attack was "the
first attempt of its kind in Spain since re-establishment of Jewish communities."
September 30, 1966
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Jewish Chronicle
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- ($6.00 Per Year; This
Issue 20c
'Soviet Jewry Week' Protests
Create New Conflict With USSR
Arab League UN Members
Boycott Lindsay's Social
(Direct JTA Teletype Wire to The Jewish News)
NEW YORK—Twelve of the 13 Arab nations rep-
resented at the United Nations decided Monday to
boycott Mayor John V. Lindsay's dinner-dance for chiefs
of missions attending the 21st UN General Assembly
because the mayor canceled a city reception and dinner
for King Faisal of Saudi Arabia last June.
The social affair which will be held Monday at the
New York State Theater at Lincoln Center will honor
the 118 UN members in a bid to create closer friendship
between the diplomats and the staff of the UN and the
City of New York.
Dr. Burhan Hanunad, secretary of the Arab group,
said only Pakistan and Tunisia had not joined in the
boycott. A spokesman for the administration reacted with
dismay and expressed the hope that the boycotting dele-
gations would reconsider. Some city officials said they
(Continued on Page 6)
JERUSALEM (JTA)—A number of personalities in the government were reported to be
pressing the World Jewish Congress to postpone its "Soviet Jewry Week" program, in which rallies
were scheduled for November to protest the plight of Soviet Jewry.
The pressure on the WJC stems from the belief that one of the main factors that prompted
the Soviet government to cancel the scheduled tour in Russia of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra
was the planning of the "Soviet Jewry Week" protests by the Congress. Informing Israel of the can-
cellation of the orchestra tour, the Soviet government complained about Israel's alleged "anti-Soviet
campaign."
Israeli government personalities hope that, by canceling the event, certain improvements in
Israel's relations with the soviet Union could be achieved, although the Philharmonic cancellation
seems to be final.
Observers here believe that the cancellation of the Philharmonic tour was caused by Moscow's
desire to intimidate Soviet Jews and prevent any tendency toward a national awakening or con-
tact with Israel and Israelis. The observers feel, however, that Israel would best serve the cause
of
USSR
cow
ties. Jews by avoiding any possible provocation or pretext for further worsening Jerusalem-Mos-
Zvi Haftel, manager of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, who personally signed the contract
with the Russians, said the orchestra has thus far received no notice of any cancellation from Gus—
the official Soviet cultural impresario—and the orchestra, therefore, still regards itself as bound by
(Continued on Page 6)
Fragmentation in Jewish Schools
Waste and Shortage of Personnel
Revealed in Educational Study
NEW YORK (JTA)—More effective central communal planning
of Jewish educational services in the American Jewish community
is urgently needed, the American Association for Jewish Education
reports in a review of trends and developments.
Isadore Breslau, president of the AAJE, said the absence of
Such planning "intensifies the continuing problems faced by schools
and educators alike." Among the problems he said only central
community planning could overcome were the dearth of competent
teachers, "wasteful use" of personnel, continued existence of "frag-
mented and unviable schools," inadequate supervision and "the
failure to create central secondary schools to retain pupils beyond
the Bar Mitzva."
His report was based on findings of 10 community studies of
Jewish education conducted by the AAJE at the request of federa-
tions and welfare funds during 1965. He said Jewish communities
were making intensive reviews of local Jewish education, a develop-
ment he called consistent with the effort of the Council of Jewish
`eder,ations and Welfare Funds to explore the role of federations
- relation to central planning for Jewish education. (Mandell Ber-
man of Detroit heads the CJFWF study committee.)
An almost universal condition was the proliferation of small
unviable schools with 30, 40 or 50 pupils, Breslau said. Such schools,
he said, result often from institutional competition and an un-
willingness to offend sponsors of the schools by consolidations.
The result is fragmentation and waste of energies, funds, leader-
ship and teaching personnel, he said, adding that several of the
studies proposed creation of local coordinating councils to minimize
artificial differences and- traditional separatism.
The studies indicated that the explosion of Jewish education of
the past 10 years has subsided. Some 600,000 children attend Jewish
schools on a year-around basis, with 300,000 in afternoon schools,
250,000 in one-day-week schools, and 55.000 in all-day schools.
A survey in 1959 showed that only 7.7 per cent of children in
elementary Jewish schools continued on into Jewish high schools.
Breslau said the community studies indicate the proportion may
have risen by 1 or 2 per cent. The studies found deep concern
over the problems of increasing such attendance, with the goal of
providing a Jewish education matching the ability of older Jewish
youth "to grasp Judaism at an intellectually meaningful level."
"The teacher crisis has attained threatening proportions in
many of the communities," he said. Only a small fraction of teaching
staffs in week-day schools were found to be professionally certified,
and the teacher situation in Sunday schools is even worse. The
quality of supervisory services is also becoming a matter of concern,
he reported.
Some of the surveys found that Jewish education was not getting
adequate communal financial support. The studies also found that
parents of Jewish day school pupils continued to assume the smallest
share of pupil cost of all types of formal Jewish schooling. In 1965-66,
the average fee per pupil in such schools was around $207, con-
trasted with an actual cost per day school pupil of three to four
times that much.
Communal Progress Over 40-Year Span
Reviewed by Federation: Garvett Honored
Forty years of communal endeavor, the roles played in the development of local educational and
social service agencies during the past four decades and the aims for continuing cultural and
philanthropic work were reviewed at the 40th anniversary dinner-meeting of the Jewish Welfare
Federation, at the Jewish Center, Tuesday night.
Morris Garvett was honored with the 1966 Fred M. Butzel Award, and the labors of past
presidents of Federation were recalled in the historical analyses.
Max M. Fisher, himself a Butzel Award winner, made the presentation of this year's award to
Garvett.
Hyman Safran, Federation president, was the chairman of the evening. He submitted his
annual report, and an address also was delivered by William Avrunin, Federation executive director.
Judge Theodore Levin presented the report of the nominating committee and the following
elected members of . the board of governors: Walter L. Field, Milton J. Miller, Mrs. Harold were
A.
Robinson, Nathan Silverman, Paul Broder, Martin Citrin, David Safran, Mrs. Max Stollman and Paul
Zuckerman.
In lieu of an invocation, the motzi was recited by Phillip Stollman.
In his report, Safran stated that the $2,500,000 allocation to the United Jewish Appeal in 1965
was increased to $2,900.000 this year. He said that Federation and its affiliated agencies in the past
year found themselves "deeply involved in major events—the Vatican Declaration, the future of Soviet
Jewry, the civil rights struggle, the war against poverty."
(Continued on Page 5)
Morris Garvett is shown receiving the Butzel Award from Max Fisher (left). Hyman
Safran and Judge Theodore Levin are on the right.