OPINION

I

Disturbing. Defeat

Continued from Page 12

groups like the skinheads and
black supremacist groups like
Farrakhan's Nation of Islam
to start clubs of their own in
the schools.
One despairing school
board in Long Island, faced
with an overwhelming de-
mand by a variety of cults and
other groups for classroom
space, has recommended the
elimination of all extra-
curricular activities, lest it be
accused of discrimination if it
accepted some requests and

rejected others. Could that be
what the authors of this law
intended?

The First Amendment and
the public schools have suf-
fered a serious defeat. All
those who seek to defend
them must now band
together to prevent this deci-
sion from being used as a
basis for further attacks on
the principle of church-state
separation and the integrity
of the public schools. ❑

NEWS

I

Long-Awaited Center
Opens For Rome Jews

RUTH E. GRUBER

Special to The Jewish News

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/

hen Chief Rabbi
Elio Toaff nailed a
mezuzah to the
doorpost of .a building in
downtown Rome on May 3,
he inaugurated a center of
Jewish learning and schol-
arship that has been the
dream of Italian Jewish
leaders for years.
The National Jewish
Library and Heritage Center
formally opened its doors
with a ceremonial gathering
attended by civic leaders and
Jewish community officials.
The center, under con-
struction for over four years,
is the first national library
and study center of Italian
Jewry. It houses the col-
lected archives, manuscripts
and libraries of many Jewish
communities all over Italy
that either no longer exist or
lack the resources to main-
tain the material.
About 25,000 volumes are
presently being catalogued
and restored. In addition to
the archives, there is a com-
puter room and an
audiovisual center.
For Tullia Zevi, president
of the Italian Jewish com-
munity, the center provides
a chance to use the Jewish
heritage to encourage dia-
logues between Jews and
between Judaism and other
religions.
"I think that this is a place
and an opportunity to build
bridges between American
and European Jews, bet-
ween Ashkenazim and
Sephardim," she said.
The center has already es-
tablished "operational
links" with Yeshiva Univer-
sity and the Jewish Theolog-
ical Seminary of America in
New York, and the Hebrew
University in Jerusalem.
"We are looking for young
scholars to come and work

here, to create joint educa-
tional programs and semi-
nars," Zevi said.
She observed that "Rome
is a crossroad between the
Mediterranean and Euro-
pean cultures: East and
West, North and South meet
here, and not just Jews
alone."
Zevi noted that historical-
ly, Jews in southern Europe
acted as a conduit between
Moslem scholars and Chris-
tian cultures.
"For centuries, Jews in
Spain and Italy acted as
links between Moslem
scholars and Christianity.
This is an opportunity we
would like to offer here — to
resume multilateral dia-
logue," the Jewish commun-
ity leader said.
As a step in that direction,
Italian Jewish students have
taken library training in
Jerusalem and are currently
being trained at the Vatican
Library by one of its top cu-
rators of Hebrew
manuscripts.
"If we want to survive as a
culture, we must emphasize
dialogue and education,"
Zevi stressed.
There are 30,000 Jews in
Italy, but "people know so
little" about them.
"Ignorance breeds prejudice.
We must radiate knowl-
edge," Zevi said.
She waxed enthusiastic as
she showed a guest around
the library complex, a
former machine shop a few
steps from the Jewish com-
munity headquarters on the
banks of the Tiber.
It was purchased by the
Jewish community years ago
with funds from the Lazio
region in the Rome province,
and from the Doron Founda-
tion.
The rebuilt structure,
designed by Viviana Campa-
jola, includes a breathtaking
central room.

Jewish Telegraphic Agency