Bilingualism and Diaspora Jewry Israel's Phosphate Exports Expanded By S. J. GOLDSMITH (Copyright 1969, JTA the-) •. LONDON—David Ben-Gurion was right when he said that Diaspora Jews who would not or could not settle in Israel and yet wished to remain Jews must teach their chil- dren Hebrew. otherwise the links between Israel and the Diaspora were bound to weaken as time goes on. Nor is there any need to dwell in this day and age on our tradition, which is Hebrew from Genesis on- wards. and on the excitement and elation experienced by a Diaspora Jew when he comes to Israel and is able to speak Hebrew. Of course, a Jew feels at home in Israel with- out Hebrew but he is unable to melt into the background, to feel his roots, to unbend spiritually, to re- lax intellectually among • equals, unless he has Hebrew—and Hebrew is much more than "Shalom." Again, because Yiddish is grad- ually disappearaing from Jewish life (it will not be saved artifi- cially by having Yiddish chairs at universities; they have chairs for Latin too and nobody actually Happy Passover to All Our Friends and Customers Katz's Delicatessen 13731 W. 9 Mile Rd. Oak Pork, Mich. speaks Latin) there will be no l common Jewish language unless! Jews learn to speak Hebrew, and not only to pray in Hebrew. In' fact, speaking is more important in this context, since you can pray in any language according to our tradition. The Almighty is multilingual by virtue of being omnipotent. All this is axiomatic, though it bears repetition. Diaspora Jews must, therefore, become bilingual if they are to survive as Jews. It must be Hebrew and English, He- brew and French, Hebrew and Dutch, or whatever. Here it would not be out of place to pose a definition. Sir Ben Bowen Thomas, a Welshman, defined bi- lingualism in an address to the British Association for the Advance- ment of Science, a few years ago. The child attains a mastery of its mother tongue and of a second language current within its society, or connected with its tradititon and the spiritual experience of its group. Sir Ben was talking of bi- lingualism in Wales but his defini- tion fits the Jews like a glove. His view was that in order to attain bilingualism a child must learn the second language before the age of 12. This, too, is all right with us. Bar Mitzva happens to be celebrated at 13. The similarity be- tween ourselveS and the Welsh in this respect goes even further. There are many Welsh parents who do not themselves speak Welsh but want their children to speak it. Happy Passover ACE WIPING CLOTH CO. Harry Laker, Irving Laker and Martin Laker Main Plant, 7355 Bryden, Detroit 361-3000 Best Wishes to Our Friends and Patrons for a Happy Passover CAPITOL WASTE PAPER CO., INC. ota e Hy Lipsitz and Family rif-rtrrtio ts is is 13 0000000o - • Holiday Greetings THE WALTER CARROLL COMPANY Pointers - Decorators Since 1907 13900 Blackstone 537-4466 Passover Greetin TRADITION OF EXCELLENCE Sir Ben was not worried about "spoiling" the English accent or overburdening the poor mites. As to the burden of two langua- ges, millions of Canadians, Indi- ans, Belgians, Swiss and others have two languages, either be- cause their countries happen to be composed of more than one linguistic group or because they could not make progress without a European language. If children of Swiss mountain farmers or Belgian fishermen or Canadian lumberjacks can do it, so can urban Jewish children—provided their parents cooperate by estab- lishing the necessary schools and encouraging bilingualism at home. Partial bilingualism has been tried by the Irish. There was a no- tion abroad in the early years of the Irish Republic that complete bi- lingualism was not feasible, and that partial bilingualism would suf- fice to promote Gaelic. It was a complete failure. English domin- ates Ireland, with Gaelic not even a 'poor second. Some dedicated poets write•in Gaelic but few read them. They live on grants. But we are pathfinders in this field and not followers of others. Eastern European Jewish children used to be bilingual as a matter of course. Yet, they used to be the intellectual equals of the non-Jew- ish children within their societies. to say the least. And they eventu- ally did very well in universities all over Western Europe and in the English - speaking world—when they- had a chance to get there. Alas, too few ever had that chance. For some reason, even Zionists in the West have never sum- moned enough courage to estab- lish Hebrew schools—schools with Hebrew as the teaching language. They remain reluctant to the present day. "You cannot do it in the West," we are often told -"Why not?" They don't know why not . . . Others have done it in the West very successfully. There is a mag- nificent French lycee in London, and many English parents, includ- ing Anglo-Jewish parents, make tremendous efforts to find places for their children in it. Graduates of this lycee know English as well as French. In other words, they are bilingual. There are American schools in Germany which produce bilingual graduates. There are French schools all over the Orient which are splendidly bilingual. The teaching language is French while the native language and its litera- ture are taught in the native lan- guage. The rest is done for it by the environment. The time for propaganda has passed. Whatever propaganda for Jewish bilingualism is needed is provided by the success of Israel. by the victories of its armed forces, by the achievement of the Hebrew University, and the Weizmann In- stitute, Haifa Technion, Bar-Ilan and the Tel Aviv University . . . "We need Hebrew schools in the Diaspora, not propaganda for He- ' brew" said the late Joseph Klaus- ner when I interviewed him some 20 years ago. Biculturalism follows in the wake of bilingualism, of course. Educa- tion begins in the kindergarten. Happy Passover to All j, 875 A Symbol of Quality in Good — Things — to — Eat CANDI ES — BAKERY ICE CREAM — LUNCHEONS Juniors Corned Beef-'N-Rye 1216 Delicatessen Party Tray Catering WO 1-0756 Griswold Happy Passover to Our Friends and Patrons LOU'S DELICATESSEN McNichols UN 1-1011 8224 W. 54—Friday, March 28, 1969 THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS Stimulated by Israel Bond investment funds, all phases of Israel's chemicals and minerals industries have grown rapidly. The expanded phosphate plant at Oron utilizes a superior process, whereby calcite and lime as well as organic matter are removed from the mineral- bearing rock to produce a higher grade of phosphates. A worker is shown at the new calcination plant, a key installation in the process. Exports of phosphates, which totaled 750.000 tons last year, are ex- pected to reach the million-ton mark annually in the near future with the aid of Israel Bond funds. Passover Greetings DESMOND PROCESS SUPPLY CO. Silk Screen Colors — Supplies — Equipment 6340 Fenkel I 862-1115 Wishing All My Customers and Friends A Very Happy and Healthy Passover THE DUPLEX SHOPPE Ruth Ross Happy Passover HANDLEMAN COMPANY ARC DISTRIBBUTOR — JAY-KAY DISTRIBUTOR 670 E. Woodbridge Ave. Detroit, Michigan Holiday Greetings HARTOM POWER TOOL SALES Jacobsen Lawn Mowers - John Deere Lawn and 26221 Grand River 1 1 Garden Tractors Phone 532-3265 BEST WISHES TO ALL OUR FRIENDS AND PATRONS FOR A JOYOUS PASSOVER e0130 rk,1 E S MR. 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