THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
20—Friday, Nov. 17, 1972

Stern's Death
Is Mourned

TORONTO — American
Jewry was shocked by the
death of Louis Stern, past
president of the Council of
Jewish Federations and Wel-
fare Funds, who collapsed at
the CJF assembly banquet
while addressing 2,000 guests.
Mr. Stern had just read
President Nixon's message to
Max M. Fisher and was

LATE LOUIS STERN

about to introduce the new
CJF president, Irving Blum,
when he suffered a heart
attack.
The police and fire depart-
ments rushed oxygen tanks
to the banquet hall to help
the doctors who were unsuc-
cessful in their efforts to re-
vive Mr. Stern. The banquet
hall was cleared, and dele-
gates gathered in clusters
outside, some of them crying
arid most of them visibly
shaken by the tragic turn of
events. Mr. Stern's wife,
Frances, was on the plat-
form with her husband. His
brother. Charles, accompa-
nied Mr. Stern to the hospi-
tal
Mr. Stern, born in Newark,
was a former president of
the National Jewish Welfare
Board, a member of the
hoard of governors of the
Jewish Agency, and a past
president of the Jewish Com-
munity Council' of Essex
County. a member of the
New York Stock Exchange
and the head of a brokerage
firm.
Funeral services for Mr.
Stern were held Tuesday in
South Orange. N.J.
Besides his wife and bro-
ther he is survived by a son,
Dr. Robert L. Stern, a mem-
ber of the faculty of Michi-
gan State University, his
mother and four grandchil-
dren.

Histadrut Ivrit Event
to Cite Philanthropist

NEW YORK—Histadrut lv-
rit, the Hebrew language and
culture organization, will
hold its annual banquet Dec.
3 at the Hotel Americana.
Leon Gildesgame, Hebraist,
philanthropist and art patron.

will be honored for his de-
votion to Hebrew culture and

the upbuilding of Israel.
Gen. Motta Gur, the 42-
year-old Israeli who liberat•
ed Jerusalem during the Six-
Day War, will deliver the
principal addrees. Gen. Gur
is now serving military at-
tache in the Israel Embassy
in Washington. He is an au-
thor of stories for children.
Prof. David Mirsky, presi-
dent of Histadrut Ivrit, an-
nounced that a trio headed
by Israeli violinist Joseph
Yankelev will play Israeli
music.

Federations Consider Needs to Aged, Schools, Israel

(Continued from Page 1)

New planning was pro-
posed to aid day schools, and
the decisions on education
call for greater emphasis on
studies on the secondary lev-
el, courses at universities and
ethnic studies in public
schools.

Increased financing of youth
activties by federations were
strongly encouraged.

In an overview of the awe-
some needs the resolutions
focus on. Irving Blum, newly
elected president of the CJF,
said, "The time is ripe now
to shape a new dimension of
commitment and leadership
for the '70s ... but this time,
not waiting for the threat of
catastrophe and the pressure
of dramatic events, but
moved by the unbelievable
scope of our people's needs
and by the full appreciation
of what we, as federations,
have within our people to de-
liver and to perform."

Blum, the newly elected
C J F president, prominent
Baltimore business and com-
munal leader, is chairman of
the board of trustees of the
Institute for Jewish Life. He
was chairman of the Task
Force on Jewish Identity
from its inception at the 38th
general assembly in Boston
in 1969 until the creation of

prise with a record of incred-
ible durability, in a tradition
with saving and civilizing
power which has taught gen-
erations of Jewish men and
women how to bear and en-
dure and overcome."
President Nixon, in his
message addressed to Max
Fisher, read to the assembly
for Jewish Life, in a major delegates at the banquet,
address at the opening plen- stated:
"It is always a pleasure to
ary session of the assembly.
Prof. Jick noted that 22 honor an old friend. But on
projects offering "diverse op- this occasion my warm sen-
portunities for significant ac- timents are further deepened
tion" had been validated by by my very great admiration
the institute's board of trus- for your civic and humani-
tarian accomplishments.
tees.
"As you retire from the
The projects fall within five
major areas: education, fam- presidency of the Council of
ily life, leadership develop- Jewish Federations and Wel-
ment and community organ- fare Funds you leave behind
ization, arts and the media, an outstanding r e c or d of
and the role of Israel as an achievement. The whole pur-
education resource.
pose and constructive work
Speaking about the institute of this prestigious organiza-
in general and the inno- tion have been effectively ad-
vative projects in particular, vanced under your able guid-
Prof. Jick told the assembly ance. I know that your suc•
that the search for a more cessors will draw strength
meaningful Jewish life "p-i - and inspiration from the ex•
sents us Jews with an oppui- - ample of your selfless dedi-
tunity — a challenge — a de- cation."
mand — to restore and renew
Areas of concern w ere
that which made Jewish sur- evaluated against the back-
vival possible: ideals and drop of the U.S. presidential
ideology, commitment to life, elections, the f esterin g
community, framework,
a growth of racial tensions,
sense of history, awareness the impact of busing and quo-
of participation in an enter- tas, the needs of the Jewish

the Task Force-recommended
institute two years later.
A select group of more than
20 wide-ranging proposals
and projects, each designed
to enhance the quality of
Jewish life and to help make
it more meaningful, were an-
nounced by Prof. Leon A.
Jick, director of the Institute

poor, the expanding women' s
liberation movement, the in-
creasing demands placed on
Jewish federations and wel-
fare funds, the on g oin g
thrust for more and better
Jewish education and the in-
tensified involvement of
young people in Jewish com-
munity affairs.
Delegates were told that at
least $125,000,000 is needed
in 1973 for the aged, the sick
and poor, for education and
culture, for youth services.
for economic and vocational
needs and for families and
children. In addition, require-
ments for immigration and
absorption in Israel, housing.
health, welfare, secondary
and higher education, youth
care and agricultural settle-
ments total $785,000,000, of
which $505,000,000 has to be
raised in North America.
The delegates attending the
assembly—most of them had
attended previous assembly
conventions, but a sizeable
group, including some 200
youth delegates, had never
attended an assembly before
—were told in the course of
50 workshops, plenary ses-
sions and forums that each
federation must assess the
full implications of these
needs and then seek that goal
which will help achieve the
greatest response.

Population Study Reveals Intermarriage Trend

BY MURRAY ZUCKOFF
JTA News Editor

perspectives in "the shadow additional
information
is
land separating Jewish stir- gathered.
viva' from Jewish oblivion
The report focuses on "the
. . . the complex and crisis- two typical intermarriage
arousing field of intermar- patterns: husband J e w i s h,
riage."
wife not Jewish; and wife

TORONTO (JTA) — Some
2,000 Jewish communal lead-
ers from the United States
and Canada, meeting here to
discuss plans and launch pro-
The report, written by Dr.
grams to assure the strength- Fred Massarik of the Uni-
ening of Jewish bonds and versity of California, Los An-
intensifying Jewish identity geles (UCLA), director of the
and consciousness, were pre- CJF study and of the re-
sented with a report disclos- search service bureau of the
ing an alarming trend of in- Los Angeles Jewish Federa•
creased intermarriage among tion-Council, and released at
American Jews. Data re- the general assembly, is a
leased at the 41st general series of statistical tables
assembly of the Council of and conclusions on a more
Jewish Federations and Wel- comprehensive study to be
fare Funds showed that "of released at a later date. The
current marriages some 16.8 released findings, which
per cent intermarriages ap- deals exclusively with mar-
pear in the United State Jew- riages intact at the time of
ish population." Moreover, the study, does not specify
the initial report specified how many were interviewed
that available data "indi- either directly or by any
cates strongly that in recent means or how many of those
years the proportion of inter- sampled indirectly respond-
marriages has attained a ed to a series of question-
level which, in the history of naires.
the United States Jewish
It was reported by Dr.
population since the century's Massarik that the study was
turn, is unprecedented."
conducted in cities with Jew-
The report, however, also ; ish populations of 40.000 or
disclosed that there is a more and several smaller
cities based on 39 geograph-
"positive balance in favor of
ical areas in which 7,600
'conversion into' rather than
a 'conversion out of Juda• households were sampled. He
ism," that at the present noted that the statistics and
time, "It remains that nearly findings in the report are
96 per cent of children in subject to further refinement,
clarification and changes as
Jewish households (of inter-
married couples) are or will
be raised as Jews," and that Jewish Agency Puts
in homes where the wife is
Jewish and the husband is Aliya, Education 1st

not, "nearly all children are
being, or were, raised as

Jewish."

This picture of American
Jewry emerged with the first
in a series of reports dealing
with a demographic profile
of the American Jewish com-
munity. Based on the find-
ings of the CJF's three-year
National Jewish Population
Study, the most ambitious
and comprehensive study to
date, the 41-page working
paper, "Explorations in In-
termarriage," presents a
graphic overview of the
trends and basic factors and

LONDON (JTA) — Jewish
Agency Executive Chairman
Louis A. Pincus said the
"intimately connected" areas
of aliya and Jewish educa-
tion remain the focal point
of the agency's efforts in the
diaspora.

In summing up his visit
here before leaving for Je-
rusalem, Pincus said it was
necessary to widen the scope
of the agency's work in en-
couraging immigration, and
creating an aliya mood
among British Jews, rather
than tackling prospective in-
dividual immigrants.

.••

They were told they should
not be limited by the levels
of previous achievements.

Sidney Z. Vincent, execu-
tive director of the Jewish
Federation of Cleveland and
coordinator of the 1969 Inter-
national Conference on Hu-
man Needs in Israel, under-
scored this approach when
he told several hundred dele-
gates attending a forum
dealing with the impact of
contemporary issues "that
priorities must be reordered
in terms of continuing Jew-
'sh community needs. The
mood of the country shows
that our (federations) base
will continue to be broad-
ened and not, as some seem
to think, be merely a fund-
raising mechanism." As evi-
dence, Vincent cited such
problems as changing neigh-
borhoods, civil rights, stu-
dent needs and women's lib-
eration demands within the
Jewish community.

Jacqueline Levine of Essex
County, N.J., a CJF official,
focused on the need to re-
evaluate and step up the role
of women in Jewish federa-
tions.
Noting that women "are a
vital human resource," Mrs.
Levine said that although
more women are serving on
boards of directors and as •
officers of federations, and
while the Jewish community
structure is more open than
it was a few years ago, "real
changes haven't happened
yet." However, she com-
mended the CJF for taking an
initial step in assessing the
role of women in federations
by issuing a "most search-
ingly detailed" questionnaire
to directors and lay leaders.

Dealing with conversion,
the report states that "with
one significant exception,
formal conversion Is a rela•
lively rare phenomenon when
the overall pattern of Jewish
Jewish, husband not Jewish." marriage and intermarriage
This pattern is, according to is considered." The most fre-
Bertram II. Gold, execu-
the report, substantially one quent conversion into Juda- tive vice president of the
in which either • marriage ism "is found for the initial- American JeWish Commit-
partner identified with a re- ly non-Jewish wife of a Jew- tee, discussing the patterns
ligious-cultural viewpoint be- ish husband," the report of voting in the presidential
fore meeting the fut u r e states. "Here, in this most election and the implications
spouse and "with no recourse prevalent of intermarriage for Jewish community rela-
as yet to their mutual accom- types, somewhat more than tions, stated that there was
modations as may be effect- one-fourth, 26.7 per cent, re- "an inordinate amount of at-
ed by conversion or by port formal conversion into tention focused on the Jew-
change in religious identifica- Judaism."
ish vote," more so than in
tion in response to their re-
A similar trend fails to previous national elections.
lationship."
appear for non-Jewish hus- Issues concerning Jews were
According to the report, the bands of Jewish spouses; prominent during the elec-
rate of intermarriage from here only 2.5 per cent report tion campaign, thus giving
1900 to 1940 ranged from 4 formal conversion. The only the Jews a greater visibility
per cent to 5.8 per cent, fol- other significant conversion as an electoral group, if not
lowed by a significant up- 'pattern, "though numerical- a bloc.
Gold observed that the
swing in the rate to 12.5 per ly small because they relate
cent beginning with World to intrinsically small groups, Jewish vote was "anomol-
War II and maintaining this are noted for conversions ous," explaining that while
plateau until 1956 when the out of Judaism, particularly President Nixon garnered 61
rate dropped to 11.1 per cent in the marginal intermar- per cedt of the national vote.
between 1956-1960.
riage groupings," the report 61 per cent of the Jews voted
for Sen. George McGovern.
The figure of 16.8 per cent adds.
While the national vote indi-
of current intermarriages
Another set of statistics
appears to be a statistical dealing with children's reli- cated a "centrist trend, a
average for the years 1900 gious orientation shows that middle-of-the-road approach
to 1972 which in this report 99.2 per cent are raised as to change," the Jewish vote
is divided into nine time seg- Jewish in non-intermarried "indicated, if anything, that
ments. Again, there is no in- households while 63.3 per Jews now appear to be more
dication of why some time cent are raised as Jewish liberal than the rest of the
segments represent 20 years where the husband is Jewish, country.
A number of workshops
while others are segmented and 98.4 where the wife is
into 10, 6, 5, or 4 year peri- Jewish. The same set of sta- dealt with the role and fu-
ture of the American-Jewish
ods.
tistics discloses that where
press. Participants generally
The report shows that the husband is Jewish 13.9
agreed that the Jewish news
childhood environment bears per cent of the children are
media is healthy, vital and
heavily on subsequent mari- oriented as Protestants and
flourishing and an increas-
tal relations. According to 10.1 per cent as Catholics;
ingly growing force in assur-
the test samplings of those where the wife is Jewish only
ing awareness of Jewish de-
not intermarried, 5.5.2 . per 0.3 per cent of the children
velopments throughout the
cent indicated that they were are oriented as Catholics and
world.
"strongly Jewish" in their none as Protestants. Where
One of the seminars deal-
upbringing and 34.4 per cent the husband has no religious
ing with the Jewish press was
"somewhat Jewish." In inter- preference 76.9 per cent of
presided over by Jerold C.
marriages where the husband the offspring are oriented as
Hoffberger. The speaker was
is Jewish only 15.2 per cent Catholics and 23.1 per cent as
Dr. Abraham Karp and the
had a "strongly Jewish" up- Protestants.
consultant Robert Cohen.
bringing and 54.3 per cent
In the sphere of general
The Jewish Association for
"somewhat Jewish." In cases Jewish identity, in response Services for the Aged of New
where the wife is Jewish 55,9 to the question "is the per-
York, and the Allied Jewish
per cent indicated "strongly son Jewish now?," some 43-
Community Services of Mon-
Jewish" upbringing and 32 46 per cent of initially non- treal were the recipients of
per cent "somewhat Jewish" Jewish spouses described
the 1972 William J. Shroder
upbringing.
themselves as Jewish
Awards.

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