PI:ow'ortni 'Mita! Continuity: Yes. Constitutional Prayer: No. CJF's 1994 General Assembly rallied around school prayer. OPEN SUNDAYS NOON TIL 5 0 0 P M THURSDAY EVENINGS mm=mm=mest UNTIL 8 : 0 0 P M (0,218831teNS9CIOMMIMISSOI14 AMY STONE SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS In a speech Nov. 18 at the - esterday's angst is today's study commission. Last Colorado Convention Center, year's General Assembly Mr. Gore stressed the Clinton of the Council of Jewish administration's disagreement Federations created a commis- with "coerced" prayer in public sion to study the buzz-word of the schools. He also defended church- day: "Jewish continuity." But del- state separation as neither a De- egates at this year's GA, which mocratic nor a Republican was held in Denver from Nov. 16 concept, "but [as] an American through 20, were galvanized by idea." Two days before Mr. Gore's a new issue: school prayer. The school prayer issue sur- speech, President Clinton had y Americans for a Safe Israel protested Israel's possible withdrawal from the Golan Heights outside the G.A. THE DENVER POST/KARL GEHRING faced late in the gathering of suggested that he might consid- more than 2,700 Jewish lay lead- er supporting a constitutional ers and professionals from 189 amendment allowing voluntary Jewish federations in the U.S. school prayer. This was seem- and Canada. (Participants also ingly in response to the intention came from Israel and seven oth- of Rep. Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., er countries.) Despite impas- that, as incoming speaker of the sioned speeches by Israeli Prime House, he would have a congres- Minister Yitzhak Rabin on the sional vote on a constitutional peace breakthroughs of the past amendment on school prayer by 14 months and the need to nur- next July 4. CJF President Maynard Wish- ture Jewish identity and Likud opposition leader Benjamin Ne- ner of Chicago told the Denver tanyahu's attacks on the "bogus" Post he had told Mr. Gore PLO peace and the need to nur- that the president's remarks ture Jewish identity, it was Vice "sent waves of shock" through President Al Gore's failure to the group. GA delegates passed firmly oppose a school prayer a resolution endorsing church- amendment that energized dele- state separation and calling school prayer and a moment gates. of silence "equally unacceptable." As delegates were vociferous- ly opposing enforced school prayer, the language of prayer and the appreciation of spiritu- ality were a subtext at the as- sembly. At the opening plenary, World Zionist Organization pres- ident Edgar Bronfman surprised delegates by referring to HaShem ("the Name," a reference to God) and saying that he had "been reading the Bible every day." And for the first time in 63 years of G.A. programming, a plenary ses- sion was devoted to studying the text of the week's Bible portion, and several study sessions on the midrash were held during the as- sembly's four days. In the past, Jewish federations have tended to steer clear of reli- gion, concentrating on fund rais- ing for local needs and for the Jewish Agency for Israel and the American Jewish Joint Distrib- ution Committee. But distress over the 52 percent intermarriage rate and the concern for Jewish continuity are translating into an appreciation of the need for Jew- ish education for all. Covering all bases, this G.A.'s theme was "Building Jewish Community: Contributing to Our Societies." This year's G.A. marked the 25th anniversary of student demonstrations at the 1969 Gen- eral Assembly held in Boston. Protesters had demanded to be allowed into the sessions so they could oppose inadequate funding of Jewish education. Now, a quar- ter of a century later, the student information center was a major feature of the convention center lobby and Wendy Smith, the 21- year-old president of Yale Uni- versity's Hillel, spoke at the opening plenary. Some of the freshest energy was that of recent graduates now working on college campuses as Steinhardt Fellows, funded by New York philanthropist Michael Steinhardt. Their job is to attract uninvolved Jewish students into Jewish activities. Those at the G.A. spoke of their work with al- most missionary zeal. One Stein- hardt Fellow, Cary Burton, who had received a good Quaker ed- ucation at Brooklyn Friends School, became involved in Hil- lel at the University of Wiscon- sin, spent his junior year at the SCHOOL PRAYER page 110 ■ Distinctive mmastammIng Shops and Services DORIS lilE .3425 Orchard e Keego Harbor °Amerce Rd.) • (810) 681-5424 MoOat. 10-5, Thur. 7 Consignment By Appointment Only Barry's Let's Rent It PARI1ES EXCLUSIVELY • Tents • Tables • Chairs • China • Paper Goods 4393 ORCHARD LAKE RD., N. OF LONE PINE IN CROSSWINDS 855-0480 0") C N. I CC uJ 03 LU C-3 w CI 109