THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Boris Smolar's
'Between You
. .. and Me'
Editor-in-Chief
- Emeritus, JTA
(Copyright 1976, JTA, Inc.)
THE EDUCATION FRONT: The new Jewish
school year opened with an enrollment of slightly more
than 400,000 pupils in the Jewish schools of all types
throughout the country. There was a slight increase in
enrollment in the schools of Greater New York as com-
pared with last year, but the 15-year decline in enroll-
ment continued in most of the schools in other cities.
The 400,000-mark has now apparently become the
lateau on which Jewish school enrollment will re-
main for some years, unless something more effective
is done to stimulate parents to provide Jewish educa-
tion for their children. The main reason for the decline
in the number of children attending Jewish schools —
except all-day schools — is the apathy of parents to
Jewish education.
There are also other reasons for the decline. The
lower Jewish birthrate is one of them. Growth of in-
termarriage is another. High tuition fees is a third.
Jewish population shift is a fourth. HoWever, the lack
of interest on the part of Jewish parents to send their
children to Jewish schools is considered the major fac-
tor in the non-enrollment picture.
While registration in the Jewish school system has
been declining in most communities, the cost of Jewish
education has increased during the last seven years
from $100 million a year to $260 million last year.
QUALITY EDUCATION: The brighter side in the
Jewish education picture is the fact that while enroll-
ment in other types of schools is moving downward, it
moves constantly upward in the all-day schools.
There are today more than 500 Jewish day schools
in this country, with about 95,000 pupils. This means
that almost one-fourth of the total of pupils in the
Jewish school system in the country is attending day
schools. Most of these sch6ols are Orthodox — includ-
ing some 190 high schools — but there are also about 50
Conservative day schools, the first of which are not
even 10 years old. The Reform movement, which for
years opposed the idea of sending children to a Jewish
all-day school — arguing that such schools take the
Jewish child out of the general stream of American life
— opened its first day-school five years ago. It now
maintains five such schools. There is also a Yiddishist
day-school functioning.
The Jewish day-school no longer meets with oppos-
ition on the part of anyone in American Jewish leader-
ship. Opposition that existed was broken by Max M.
Fisher, the noted Jewish leader, when he served as
president of the Council of Jewish Federations and
Welfare Funds several years ago. The CJFWF is now
urging the local communities to support their all-day
schools. There is today a Jewish day school in every
community of at least 7500 Jews.
THE NEW YORK PICTURE: New York, the
largest Jewish community in the world, has now about
660 Jewish schools of all types.
Thanks to the dynamic activities of Dr. Alvin I.
Schiff, the youthful vice president of the New York
Board of Jewish Education — who is also the president
of America's National Council for Jewish Education —
Manhattan has; fol. the first time in 10 years, evi-
denced enrollment increases during the past school
year. An enrollment campaign, conducted with the
financial aid of the New York Federation of Jewish
Philanthropies, was directly responsible for some
1,000 new students enrolling in schools in the met-
ropolitan area.
Today the Jewish schools of all types in Greater
New York have an enrollment of about 114,000 pupils,
the largest proportion of whom — about 45 percent —
attend day-schools. Some 30 percent attend afternoon
and weekend schools. About 22 percent are registered
n one-day schools and three percent in nursery
schools.
While the total number of pupils in the Jewish
schools of Greater New York now constitutes more
than 28 percent of the total of pupils in all Jewish
schools in the United States, it must not be forgotten
that the number of Jewish children of school age —
between four and 18 years old — is estimated to be in
New York about 400,000.
Zionism Discussed in New Booklet
In a new Jewish Cur- using Walter Laqueur's
rents reprint entitled, "A History of Zionism,"
"The Zionist Movement as a guide and then goes
Revisited," Dr. Louis on to discuss the impact of
Harap presents a discus- factors such as anti-
sio n on - the history, Semitism, the Holocuast,
tenets, and rationale of and Jewish nationalism
Zionism, talus Zionism's upon Zionism.
relationship to socialism Harap concludes with
and the ,nature of Israel an appraisal of the
as a modern political ideological and actual
state.
factors affecting the con-
Harap gives an histori- tinued existence of the
cal overview of Zionism state of Israel.
Friday, November 5, 1976 17
BETH YEHUDAH SCHOOLS
62nd
ANNIVERSARY DINNER
The Fairlane. Manor (across from the Fairlane Town Center)
Sunday evening, November 21, 1976
For Reservations Please Call
557-6750
CO-CHAIRMEN:
GUEST SPEAKER:
I. William Sherr
David B. Holtzman
John Scali
former U.S. Ambassador to the UN
and ABC-TV Senior Correspondent
Topic: Israel's position in the Mideast
GOLDEN TORAH AWARD RECIPIENT
Seymour Rabinowitz
SPECIAL AWARD
Nathan P. Rossen
SPONSORS
Marvin Berlin
Harold. Beznos
Max Biber
Stuart M. Bloch
Jack J. Carmen
Ernest L. Citron
Irwin I. Cohn
Dr. Arnold Eisenman
Dr. Leon Fill
Kenneth Fischer
Sidney Fischer
Morris Flatt
Nathan I. Goldin
Ruben Grevnin
Samuel Hechtman
Peter Heiman
George Hill
David B. Holtunan
Honigman Foundation
In Memory of Sarah Honigman
Arnold Joseff
Mrs. Morris Karbal
Daniel A. Laven
Joseph Nusbaum
Irving I. Palman
Dr. Lloyd J. Paul
Alvin Reifman
Julius Rotenberg
Alex Saltsman
Robert A. Schwartz
I. William Sherr
Max Stollman
Phillip Stollman
Mel Wallace
Philip T. Warren
Fred Weiss
Dr. Arnold Zuroff
HONORARY CHAIRMEN
Marvin Berlin
A. Howard Bloch
Ernest L. Citron
Reubin Dubrinsky
Nathan I. Goldin
Dr. Joseph E. Goodstein
Samuel Hechtman
Arnold Joseff
Mrs. Morris Karbal
Daniel A. Laven
Joseph Nusbaum
Seymour Rabinowitz
Julius Rotenberg
Alex Saltsman
Robert A. Schwartz
Meyer Weingarden
COMMITTEE
Hillel L. Abrams
Isadore Averbuch
Max Biber
Leonard Borman
Jack J. Carmen
Max Carmen
David N. Cohen
Solomon N. Cohen
Henry Dorfman
Morris Dorn
Dr. Arnold Eisenman
Kenneth Fischer
Sidney Fischer
Irving Goldfarb
Ruben Grevnin
David Hermelin
David Kuperwasser
Eugene Kraus
Sol Lessman
Irving I. Palman
Alvin Reifman
Solomon Rothenberg
A. M. Silverstein
Charles Snow
Nathan Soberman
Max Stollman
Phillip Stollmuxl
Louis Topor
Julius Wainer
Charles Weiner
Mrs. Robert Weinbaum
Eugene Zack