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. OFFICIAL AGENCY IOM EGA I AUTHORIZED SALES & REPAIRS SEE samt GOWNS George Ohrenstein '39 TO $ 199 Jewelers Ltd. LOOK TOOK — MILS 4 TO 44 -TODAY Thru SAT. — 10 AM TO 5:30 • SHANDELS Crest!. Jewelers Diamonds — Precious Stones — Precision TIM. Pious 151 SOUTH W COD '.*i 550 MI 2-4150 • BIRMINGHAM 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. WHY RUN AROUND 7' HARVARD ROW MALL 11 Mlle 8 Lanser 353-314% PEARL SCISSORS BUCKLES UNLIMITED wise. 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