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HORWITZ Special to The Jewish News erusalem — Uniting educators, scholars and lay leaders is essential to improving Jewish educa- tion in North America and, according to Hebrew Univer- sity's Seymour Fox, a newly- formed commission is perfor- ming this task and elevating Jewish education as a com- munal priority in the process. Speaking last week to educators from North America, Europe and Israel as part of the 13th annual conference of the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE), Professor Fox claimed front-line educators — those in the classroom — scholars at universities and communal leaders seldom work together to tackle the needs of Jewish education. "These three elements are waiting to be developed," Fox said. "Jewish brainpower at North American universities and in the arts and the media, is waiting to be in- vited to work in the field of Jewish education and com- munal leaders are prepared to work for Jewish education to- day in ways like never before!' Fox, who directs the School of Education at Hebrew University and established its Melton Center for Jewish Education in the Diaspora, said the new Commission of Jewish Education in North America, whose 43 members include lay leaders, scholars and educators spanning Or- thodox, Conservative and Reform viewpoints, "can make something dramatic take place." Fox said Cleveland philan- thropist Morton Mandel, who helped create the commis- sion, insisted that for Jewish education to be a top priority outstanding communal leaders would have to be brought together to change the agenda of North America Jewry. The commission held its first meeting in New York on Aug. 1. Fox said that over its anticipated 18-24-month life, the commission will develop programs, projects and fun- ding sources. He added that the creation of demonstration centers, where new and in- novative teaching concepts and techniques will be shared with educators, is a likely recommendation. Fox said interviews with commission members prior to j the meeting revealed their top priority was improving professionalism in Jewish education through better salaries, job enrichment, lad- ders of advancement, net- working among peers and development of codes of ethics. Also, he said, commis- sion members believed Israel had to be central in any con- cept of Jewish education. Fox cautioned educators not to view the efforts of lay leaders, and the commission, with skepticism. "They are reaching out and we need to learn a lot from them," he said. "They are learning we are in Jewish education because it's rewar- ding and exciting, not because we can't be rich, successful businessmen . . . This com- mission is an important symptom of what Jews can and will do for Jewish educa- tion!' Fox's presentation was one of more than 200 sessions of- fered to almost 2,000 educators at Hebrew Univer- sity's Mt. Scopus campus be- tween July 31-August 5. Ad- ditionally, more than 80 day- long field trips were offered throughout Israel on subjects ranging from "Reappraising the Myth of Massada" and "Gaza Through Arab and Jewish Eyes" to "Yuppies, Yemenites & Yiddishkeit" and "The Israeli Jewish Woman!' More than 70 Detroit-area educators participated in the conference. The Jewish Welfare Federation offered $500 subsidies to stimulate attendance. Joint Projects Planned For Detroit, Yavneh A group of 20 Detroit-area Hebrew school teachers and administrators met with counterparts in Yavneh, Detroit's new Project Renewal partner, to devlop relation- ships leading to joint pro- gramming this fall for children in both communities. The educators' day-long visit to Yavneh, a growing community of 22,000 situated between Tel Aviv and Ashdod, occurred three days prior to the joining of 1,800 of their peers from North America, Europe and Israel on July 31 for the 13th annual con- ference of the Coalition for the Advancement of Jewish Education (CAJE) at Hebrew University in Jerusalem. The Detroit contingent, which included educators from United Hebrew Schools, Temple Israel and Shaarey Zedek, toured Yavneh's com- munity center, schools, day care facilities and Neot Shazar, the neighborhood targeted for much of Detroit's Project Renewal attention and dollars. Then, with facilitators from the Melitz Institute, the Detroit and Yavneh educators met in a series of roundtable sessions to devise programs to draw children from the com- munities closer together. UHS Director Ofra Fisher, who helped arrange the gathering, said the Detroit participants will meet next month and select one or two projects "that can be done well!' She said one idea is to ex- change videotapes, with children from one communi- ty discussing the things they care about and getting answers from their peers in the other community. Another idea, she said, is teaching "Pillars of Fire" in Yavneh with a special kit and discussion techniques devised by UHS. While Israel televi- sion carried "Pillars of Fire," which chronicles the events A day-long visit by 20 Detroit teachers will lead to several cooperative ventures. and personalities responsible for the state's rebirth, she said many Israeli youth still need to learn more about the state's history. Utilizing computer pro- grams devised by Yavneh educators in Detroit Hebrew school classrooms is also a possibility, Fisher said. Detroit plans on investing more than $2.2 million in Project Renewal funds in Yavneh over the next three years. It has established an endowment to help maintain projects completed in Ramle, the community's previous Project Renewal partner. —A.M.H.