THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Mormon Students Lose Stereotypes in Israel
everyone in Israel is reli-
gious. "I was taken aback by
JERUSALEM — Three
the number of Israelis who ,
Brigham Young University
do not live the religious
students — Elizabeth
life," he said. He learned,
Zobell, Todd Packard and
Ken Flamm — are return- however, that traditions
express Jewish identity for
ing home after spending an
most Israelis.
unusual half-year abroad in
The Brigham Young
Jerusalem, Israel.
University Center, situated
After six months together
in
Jerusalem's Ramat
with 90 fellow students
Rachel kibutz, was estab-
studying Bible, theology,
lished 12 years ago in re-
history and political science
sponse to the growing desire
at the Brigham Young Uni-
versity Center here, their of the Mormon Church to
have
a more active presence
individual reactions to the
small Jewish state were of in the land of Israel. Besides
introducing
the students to
wonder and surprise.
modern Israel, the program
Zobell, a sociology major,
makes them aware of con-
and Packard, a pre-med
nections between the Bible,
student, didn't expect to
find a modern country with their own Mormon beliefs,
the present-day realities of
such a wide range of Jewish
the Jewish people and the
people. They blamed their
lack of preparation on Old Holy Land.
"Apart from learning
Testament images.
about Judaism from our
"We had always seen
Jewish
teachers, we also
pictures of the Old City or
pastoral scenes in the were invited to share the
experience of the Sabbath
Galilee," Elizabeth ex-
plained. "I didn't expect and festivals in Jewish
homes," recounted Ms.
to see cars on the roads,"
said Todd, recalling his Zobell. "Through these ex-
periences I came to ap-
impressions of the Holy
preciate the ways the Jews'
Land upon his arrival
celebrate their holy days.
last winter.
They do so with a joy I found
For Flamm, the surprise
infectious."
was finding that not
Participation in Jewish
?Awl
life allowed the students
• :',411r/
Cleay--nowisod
to
compare and contrast
I
smoarior
their own way of life with
FRUIT
that of the Jews. "Both
BASKETS
Jews and Mormons,"
3 Timis Daily
commented Flamm, "are
Nation-Wide
very family-oriented. We
Delivery
both set aside the Sab-
$ 1795 ?I' bath as a special day just
to be with the family.
RODNICK-
While. we were here the
MeINERNEY'S
Jewish Sabbath became
our own day of rest. It
772-4350
0
was strange to-shift the
"'
'''Am6r.MWArwoorqviN6i*.:
Sabbath from Sunday to
Saturday, but after a
while, it seemed only
natural." '
Since, for Mormons, even
politics have a religious di-
mension, the course in-
cludes an analysis of
present-day political trends
in the Middle East.
"Whereas I certainly under-
stand Israel more now," said
Ms. Zobell, "I also have a
better understanding of the
Arab case. Our classes are
given by both Arabs and
Jews, so we get a balanced
view of the situation."
This impartiality was
very much the intention of
the current coordinator of
the program, David Gal-
braith, who is completing
his PhD thesis at Hebrew
University in the field of in-
ternational*relations.
Kelly Ogden, administra-
tive assistant at the center,
JEWISH
explained the participation
of both Arab and Jewish
NATIONAL FUND
teachers alongside Mormon
273118 SOUTHFIELD
teachers: "We don't want to
SFLD. MI 48076
557-6644
give a one-sided picture of
the situation. We don't be-
Monday thru Thursday
lieve that 'God is against
9 AM to 5 PM
the Arabs' but rather that
Friday 9 AM to 4 PM
they, like the Jews, are
children of Abraham and
also have a rightful place in
the land. That is why our
students meet with both
Arab and Jewish per-
sonalities."
The program organiz-
ers explained that the
Mormons lay special
By MORDECAI BECK
SAY IT
WITH
TREES
claim to a relationship
with Israel and the
Jewish people. Among
other tenets of their faith,
Mormons believe them-
selves to be descendants
of the biblical Joseph
through his sons Ep-
hraim and Menasseh.
Members of these tribes,
they believe, left Israel
just prior to the Babylo-
nian conquest around
600 BCE and fled to the
Aniericas.
The civilizations they es-
tablished flourished for a
millennium and, the Mor-
mons contend, were visited
by Jesus after the crucifix-
ion. Although they accepted
Jesus' testament, say the
Mormons, they eventually
fell away from it and were
destroyed.
Their spiritual inheri-
tance was lost until 1820,
when another Joseph,
Joseph Smith, had a vision
about the restoration of the
church of Jesus, which
marked the fulfillment of
biblical prophecy.
One of the most intrigu-
ing of these prophecies was
made by an early apostle of
the church, Orson Hyde. On
a visit to the Holy Land in
1841, he pronounced a
blessing from the Mount of
Olives, prophesying the re-
turn of the Jews from their
exile. Without the fulfill-
ment of this prophecy, claim
the Mormons, there could
have been no modern Israel.
The return of the Jews
to Israel is further proof
that the world is on its
way to the Final Redemp-
tion, Mormons believe,
evidence which is rein-
forced, they say, by the
appearance of Elijah in
the Mormon Temple in
Ohio in 1836.
Said Todd Packard: "The
ingathering of the Jews is a
sign of the Divine plan
being worked out. Perhaps
in Israel itself it will take
some time before swords are
beaten into plowshares, but
if both Arabs and Jews keep
to their faith there is no rea-
son why they cannot even-
tually find some com-
promise."
The Mormons' sensitivity
towards others has helped
them understand Israel's
laws frowning on mission-
Museum Exhibits
Oppenheim Work
NEW YORK — An ex-
hibition of paintings by the
19th Century German ar-
tist, Moritz Daniel Op-
penheim (1880-1882), opens
at The Jewish Museum on
Oct. 15 and will run through
Jan. 3. Oppenheim is of
great interest as the first
Jewish artist to achieve
acclaim throughout Euzope.
The exhibition includes
14 of the original 20 paint-
ings published in book form
in Germany in 1881. Six of
these had originally been
published in album form in
Germany, then were pub-
lished in an English lan-
guage edition in the United
States in 1866 under the ti-
tle: "Family Scenes from
Jewish Life of Former
Days."
any activities. "We accept
that as a fact," says Flamm,
many of whose contem-
poraries are on missionary
assignments all over the
world. "The only time we
indulge in anything ap-
proaching missionary work
is when Israelis ask us why
we smile so much. In ex-
plaining this to them we try
to make them understand a
little of what Mormon
teaching says."
The success of the study
programs has induced
thousands of other Mor-
mons tcpmake pilgrimages
to Israel, and plans are now
afoot for a larger,
specially-built center to
house the study program
and to provide more services
for pilgrims and other vis-
itors, Mormon and other-
-NEW YORK — A study
released from the Office of
Statistics and Research at
the Board of Jewish Educa-
tion of Greater New York
indicates that New York
continues to be the only city
in the country where
enrollments in Jewish all-
day schools exceeds that of
supplementary congrega-
tional schools.
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Another example of the
growing interest in Israel
among Mormons is the
Orson Hyde Park, one of
a series of parks in the
green belt surrounding
the Old City walls, which
was inaugurated in 1979
on the occasion of the an-
niversary of Elder Hyde's
visit.
The large tract of land on
the Mount of Olives, where
Orson Hyde offered his
blessing, provides a place
for Mormon pilgrims and
students to meet and re-
enact the dramatic
prophecy of this early apos-
tle.
'eaFF'eogle
The statistics also show
an increase of pupil enroll-
ment in Greater New York's
601 Jewish schools.
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