`Israel's Dogma: One Jerusalem,' British Rabbis Are Told

(Direct JTA Teletype Wire
to The Jewish News)

all-day conference convened by the
LONDON — Plans to increase chief rabbinate.
the influence of the British rab-
Seventy rabbis from all over
binate throughout the country were Great Britain attended the parley.
discussed here Wednesday at an Chief Rabbi Immanuel Jakobovits

Boris Smolar's

'Between You
.. and Me'

(Copyright 1967, JTA Inc.)

EDUCATION SEASON: Jewish communities throughout the coun-
try are starting the new Jewish school year with a strong desire to
intensify Jewish education . . . During the last few years there were
about 600,000 children from 5 to 17 years of age enrolling each year
in all types of Jewish schools all over the country . . . This plateau
is not regarded as discouraging, because the Jewish population in this
country has not increased during the last years and the number of
Jewish children of school age is similarly not increasing . . . How-
ever, Jewish federations in a number of cities are determined to see
to it that more un-enrolled children should be attracted to Jewish
schools . . . They are, therefore, now giving increased attention to
central planning and financing of Jewish education . . . At least a
dozen Jewish communities have completed—or are completing—
studies of Jewish education under the auspices of their local federa-
tions . . . One of the major facts which these studies seek to estab-
lish is: Whom are the Jewish schools reaching and whom are they
missing? . . . Another major question which they seek to clarify is:
What are the possibilities for better and more efficient programs of
Jewish education? . . . Jewish educators are more interested in having
the comniutiities take stock of the quality rather than the mere dimen-
sions of Jewish education . . . In their view, a huge increase in en-
rollment only compounds what shortcomings exist in the quality of
Jewish education . . . Some of the communities, in conducting their
studies now, are concentrating on finding the best way to improve
Jewish education.
•
•
•
MORAL GOALS: The study made by the St. Louis Jewish Federa-
tion of the Jewish educational system will be of interest to other
communities . . . The Federation drew up recommendations on how
to improve programs and - facilities now available and,, outlined its
major goals in Jewish educational programs ... It sought to establish
statistically the total "school age" Jewish population as well as to
., analyze statistically the enrollment, attendance, retention and drop-
- outs in various programs of Jewish education . . . On the qualitative
side, it sought to establish—through tests to a sample of students—
the standard achievements of the pupils in their study of history,
customs, Bible, contemporary Jewish life, and Hebrew language . .
The Federation survey also probed attitudes of students, parents and
teachers and analyzed the backgrounds, experience and effectiveness
of teachers . . . It also analyzed extra-curricular activities such as
junior congregation, school assemblies, gar Mitzva and Bat Mitzva,
etc. . . . The study was based on the estimate that the Jewish popu-
lation in St. Louis is 57,000 and that the number of school-age Jewish
children (age 7-17 years) is between 8,550 and 10,260 . . . Of this
number, Jewish schools of all kinds in St. Louis showed a total en-
rollment of about 8,200 students, of whom more than 7,000 were at-
tending one-day-a-week schools . . . This would mean that close to
86 per cent of all children in the Jewish schools in St. Louis 'are
attending school only one day a week—a figure which requires
serious thinking . . . Of the 285 teachers in all the schools, less than
12 per cent hold certificates or licenses issued by a recognized teach-
ers' certification agency for Jewish education—another subject for
serious thinking . . . On the other hand, the physical facilities for
Jewish education in St. Louis are more than adequate . . . And this
seems to be the case also in other communities . . . The curriculum
of the schools in St. Louis does not differ significantly from that in
similar institutions in other parts of the country.
- •
•
•
THE 'SEPARATISM' ISSUE: A somewhat different picture emerges
from a study conducted in Chicago. where the Jewish Welfare Fund
is now becoming a significant force in shaping Jewish education . . .
Chicago's Jewish school system seems to be suffering a good deal
from ideological "separatism." . . . There is the Board of Jewish
Education with its affiliated 58 schools attended by 22.000 children,
and there is the Associated Talmud Toras with - its net of schools . . .
The Board of Jewish Education institutions are primarily Liberal and
Conservative: the institutions affiliated with the Associated Talmud
Toras are primarily Orthodox . . . The Chicago survey feels that it
would be easier to cope with the weakness in Jewish education—
which is Intensified by the existing ideological separatism—if co-
operative relationships were established between the BJE and its
member institutions and the ATT and its affiliated institutions . . .
The survey panel, therefore, proposed the establishment of an ad hoc
committee on Jewish education tinder the auspices of the Jewish
Welfare Fund to help implement the recommendations for joint acti-
vity .. „Specific areas in which the Joint activity would be appropriate
were recommended and special attention was given to the need for
additional data regarding the current status and trends in Jewish
education . . . It was established that, while each agency maintains
files on stucknt drop-outs, tuition fees, attendance, sex distribution,
etc., much more information is needed to have a comprehensive
picture of Jewish education in Chicago . . . There is little knowledge
of why pupils stop their Jewish education after graduation from ele-
mentary school . . . There is no information on students' attitudes
to school programs, on their likes and dislikes of specific subjects . .
There is no information on attitudes of parents . . . . There is no
statistical researc h on demographic aspects of the Jewish community
directly related to Jewish child population . . . Nothing is known
about how many Jews live in a neighborhood, or of the Jewish birth
rate in a given year ... Such research, the survey panel pointed out,
could shed light on many problems of planning and organizing Jewish
education that trouble both the lay and professional leadership . . . It
could provide guideposts for action to improve Jewish education . . .
Joint activity by the Board of Jewish Education, the College of Jewish
Studies and the Associated Talmud Toras whould make it possible to
conduct research in Jewish demography bearing on school program-.
ing . . . Other recommendations included the giving of top priority
for the College of Jewish Studies to teacher training to meet the
manpower needs of all types of Jewish schools in Chicago.

outlined a plan for what he called
"a new partnership" between the
religious and lay leaders of the
Anglo-Jewish community, under
which he said the influence and
status of the rabbinate in general
would be increased.
One of the speakers at the con-
ference was Ambassador Aharon
Remez, Israel envoy to London,
who urged the British rabbinate to
increase its interest in the political
and diplomatic difficulties Israel
expects to face in the near future,
especially during the current Gen-
eral Assembly session at the
United Nations.
He asserted categorically that,
on the question of Jerusalem, "we
have one dogma; Jerusalem will
not again be divided." He told the
rabbis: "We must mobilize all our
spiritual and moral forces to bring
home to all religions in the world
and to explain that this dogma is
not chauvinistic. We have a great
spiritual responsibility, and t h e
great religions of the world have
nothing to fear and everything to
gain by looking forward to our
presence in Jerusalem." Another
speaker at the conference was
Hyam Morrison, chairman of the
Joint Palestine Appeal.

It is recorded that Johann Hein-
rich Karl Thieme, sexton of Alden-
berg, Germany, dug 23,311 graves
during a 50-year career. In 1826,
his understudy dug his grave.

Friday, September 22, 1967-11

THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS

Israel Paratroopers Give Shield to Hadassah

JERUSALEM — The paratroop hospital personnel in treating bri-
brigade which liberated Jerusalem gade casualties during the Si:--Day
has presented a shield to the staff War.
The shield bears the badges of
of the Hadassah-Hebrew Univers-
ity Medical Center in gratitude for the Paratroop Corps, of the bri-
the skill, devotion and love dis- gade and of the City of Jerusalem
played by, doctors, nurses and other united.

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