commit itself to finance a faun• dation whose scope would meet the enormity of the problem in Jewish education caused the activists to reflect on the enorm- ity of their task: altering a Jewish dent actions groups for Soviet community whose philanthropic Jewry, and to limited, specific traditions, rooted in decades of support for burgeoning radical precedent, refuse to be changed overnight, regardless of how press- groups. However, CJFWF's failure to , ing is the need to change. All in all, students came away mixed feelings: satisfied over Activist Students Win a F ewe Lose a Few with delegates assent to the need for student participation in federa- to a higher priority for Jew- at CJFWF General Assembly in Bosto il lions, ish education, to support of stu- By HAROLD GOLDBERG t of all committees, .including alloca. (Copyright, 1961, .girA. Inc.) tion committees, of all federations. (Harold Goldberg, a graduate , They argued that only through an student at Brandeis University, actual student voice can the fed- participated with some 300 peers erations be made to understand in the student attack on what the urgency of the necessity for they called the ramparts of the reform in Jewish education, for it Establishment—the annual general is the Jewish students who have assembly of the Council of Jewish . suffered under present systems of Federations and Welfare Funds. Jewish education. In the following report, Goldberg Substantially increased political gives a student scorecard on their agitation on behalf of Soviet gains and losses at the assembly) Jewry also was called for. BOSTON — Unprecedented par- Immediately after the confer- ticipation by committed Jewish ence opened, it became apparent activists in the annual conference to the student radicals that their of the Council of Jewish Federa- gloomy estimation of adult concern tions and Welfare Funds (CJFWF) for Jewish education was not en- not only altered the tone of the tirely accurate. Most delegates four-clay gathering, but marked listen eagerly to the students' a new departure in the positive, prescription for the spiritual mal- Jewish radical movement. aise of American Jewry. Dele- Previously, Jewish students gates generally accepted the claim limited their anti-Establishments that federations should no longer rhetoric and programs to .local function without student repre- concerns. Typical targets of com- sentation. mitted student radicals have been Perhaps the greatest surprise to an individual federation, a Bnai the activists lay in their discovery- Brith chapter. or a local Jewish that a small minority of delegates slumlord. But in Boston, Jewish had been fighting unsuccessfully students challenged a nationwide for these very reforms over the Establishment in American Jew- past years. ish life-the CJFWF. Fundamental In no way did the students issues of national—not local—im- oppose federations allocations to port were discussed. Demands Israel. It was only the domes- were presented, and, to some ex- : tic priorities which were called tent. accepted. into question. Concerned Jewish The Jewish Activist League Students argued that services (JAL) at Brandeis University such as hospitals and welfare originally stirred up interest agencies which are now largely among students on its own cam- the domain of the federal gov- pus in participating in the CJFWF ernment and the general com- conference. munity and which now mostly Subsequently, a broad -based serve non-Jews, no longer merit coalition called Concerned Jewish support of the bulk of the dom- Students (CJS), brought together estic, Jewish philanthropic dol- by JAL, consisting of represen- lar. tatives from Boston and New Specific Jewish support of such York colleges, met with initial de- agencies was necessary in the past feat in its petition to the CJFWF to insure that Jews received these for permission to address the services, but now American Thursday night plenary session' Jewry's primary need is spiritual. and to participate in all assembly The Jewish radicals asserted that workshops. Jewry in the U.S. will not flourish However, the primary aim of as a creative, religious people un- the students — to convince the less federations recognize and CJFWF that Jewish education correct their dismal failure to must become the first priority nourish research and experiments in domestic, federation alloca- in Jewish education. This failure tions — was so earnestly and was most graphically demonstrat- forcefully expressed, that ed during the silent vigil, where CJFWF was impelled to recon- one student held a sign which sider its position. asked, in Hebrew, "Who among A date and time were agreed you can read and understand He. upon for a student address of a brew?" Indeed, few of the dele- plenary session and student atten- gates seemed to indicate any dance at all convention workshops understanding of the sign as they and committee meetings. In addi- filed by. tion CJS planned a peaceful picket While the federation accepted in rally and silent vigil. The crux of the student demands its resolutions the student de- centered on what they described mands for participation in local as the low quality of Jewish life decision-making and to consider Jewish education to be a top prior- in America. Students claim that Jewish life ity in federation planning, how in this country cannot survive un- much these affirmations will less there are comprehensive at- Mean remains to be seen. The tempts to formulate creative ped- power of CJFWF is limited to re- agogic techniques to enable con- solutions: only local federations control actual allocations. To gain temporary Jewish young people to understand traditional Jewish con- actual representation in local fed- erations and to convince them to cepts in their own terms. Addressing the C.IFWF in terms redirect their allocations will he primary projects of local Jewish of the federations' budgetary com- mitment to Israel, the Jewish radical groups during the coming activists warned that without year. radical changes in present meth- ods and institutions of Jewish education, no future Jewish com- munity in America will exist to support Israel. The second major demand of the students was for democratization Students were heartened that, after years of struggling, a major Jewish Establishment asserted that student political groups which demonstrate and in other ways work for Soviet Jewry are as important as the, American Con- E1,1 i ference for Soviet Jewry. an um- brella grouping of 26 establish- ment organizations which, say the students, are only superficially concerned since they do not pro- vide the American Conference ' with any budget. • The most encouraging result of the conference was a specific assurance of funds for strug- gling, new Jewish radical groups from a few highly inter- ested delegates. The primary disappointment for students which, at the end of the conference, stimulated once again feelings of distrust among the activists, was the failure to adopt a proposal by Gordon Zacks of Columbus, to set up a $100.000,000 foundation under sponsorship of CJFWF for the purpose of devis- , ing new methods for preservation of Jewish identification. However. Zacks was named to head a corn- mittee to study the feasibility of establishing such a foundation. THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS 22—Friday, December 5, 1969 TamaRoFF OPELK 12 Mile easy to get to ... and well worth the trip T elegraph 28585 TELEGRAPH ROAD opposite Tel-Twelve Mall 1741% 1- 353-1300 N -690 ) 40 . Surie Grubner big It is a very schnis (privilege) to be in the Beth Ja- cob, in Yerushalay- im, Ihr Hakodesh. The people here are dolls. We're having a ball. Rachelle Goldstein I have always dreamed of it and now it is true. Be- ing in Eretz Yisraet Rivka Posner Israel is everything I dreamed of. My dream became re- ality. Yehudis Lane Thank you ray dear family me for giving the opportunity to go to Israel and Beth Yaacov. Rena Carmen Land of My fathers pride. Land where t h e Chashmonym died. Of thee I sing is even more marv- elous an experience than I imagined. Friends of the Beth Jacob Teachers Institute of Jerusalem cordially invite you to attend . . . SPONSORS Mrs. Max Biber Mrs. Anrom Borenstein Mrs. Joseph Borenstein Mrs. Morris Brandtvine Mrs. David Bressler Mrs. Jack Carmen Mrs. Mordechi Carmen Mrs. David J. Cohen Mrs. David N. Cohen Mrs. Norman Cottler Mrs. Julius Peigebnatz Mrs. Eugene Greenfield Mrs. Yehaskel Grubner Mrs. Jacob Hoberman Mrs. Brocha Kahana Mrs. Leizer Levin Mrs. Morris Mauthner Mrs. Manford Pick Mrs. David Pollack Mrs. Martin Rose Mrs. Nathan Soberman Mrs. Joshua Sperka Mrs. Eugene Weiss Mrs. Herman Weitzman Miss Zelda Kahan, Ann Arbor, Mich. Mrs. Nehamia Katz, Toledo, Ohio Mrs. Paul Litvin, Mt. Clemens, Mich. Mrs. Jack Schan field, Windsor, Ontario, Canada Mrs. Samuel Stollman, Windsor, Ontario, Canada The An vital Scholarship Fund Tea at the home of Mrs. David J. Cohen 18919 Cherrylawn — Detroit, Michigan on Sunday, December 14, 1969 From 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. at which time a Musical Program will be given by the Students of the Beth Yacov School for Girls in Israel R.S.V.P. Mrs. Leizer Levin — UN. 2-8791 Mrs. David N. Cohen — 538-6149 Public Invited a Pictured at a recent planning luncheon for the forthcoming Chanukah Chassidic Concert to take place on December 9th at Ford Auditorium are seated at left clockwise; Mesadames Gussie Cardash; Jack Seder; Sadie Haut; Leo Laufer; Mollie Baseman; Mr. Paul Brickner; Mr. Max Sosin; Mr. Harry Citrin; Mr. Harry Platt; Mr. Zimmerman; Mrs. Zimmerman Head Table from left: Mr. Isadore Starr; Mr. Saul Levin; Rabbi Moshe Polter; Mr. Irwin Cohn, Concert Co-Chairman Mr. Louis Levi. tan; Mrs. Morris Schaver; General Chairman Mrs. Norman Hudosh; Miss Rose Lewis; Rabbi Beret Slietntov; seated from left clockwise: Mrs. Beret Shemtov; Mrs. Moshe Potter; Mrs. Yehuda Cohen; Mrs. Morris Citrin; Mr. Morris Citrin; Mrs. Bela Hordes; Mrs. Rachel Kurtzman; Mrs. Isadore Starr;_ Mrs. Harry Citrin. .- . 111r• – .