Plotting The Future
Local donors hope to encourage Jewish scholars
to pursue the field of Jewish demographics.
JULIE EDGAR SENIOR WRITER
S
ix local families, along with
the Jewish Federation of
Metropolitan Detroit, have
donated $100,000 toward
the establishment of the first
Ph.D. fellowship in the field of
Jewish demographic studies.
And for the first time in its his-
tory, the National Endowment
for the Humanities is providing
funds for studies related to Jew-
ish life in the United States. The
NEH is augmenting the gift with
a $33,000 grant.
The Detroit Jewish Commu-
nity Doctoral Dissertation Fel-
lowship will be awarded and
administered by the New York-
based National Foundation for
Jewish Culture (NFJC), which
provides grants and fellowships
to scholars, rabbis and artists
working in Jewish academics and
culture.
"The National Endowment
Challenge Grant is the first grant
in the history of the country in
which federal funds have gone
into a national endowment for
Jewish scholarship. I think it's
the only one of its type in the
country," said Henry Saltzman,
NFJC's director of development.
The Ph.D. fellowship, which
will be administered by
the NFJC's Jewish En-
dowment for the Arts
and Humanities, will
support one student
each year in the field of
demographic studies.
George M. Zeltzer of
West Bloomfield Town-
ship, one of two lead
donors and a member
of the NFJC's Board of
Overseers of the Jewish
Endowment for the
Arts and Humanities,
said 1,000 scholars in
the area of Jewish stud-
ies have been supported by the
NFJC.
The NFJC is nearing the end
of a $2-million campaign to en-
dow Ph.D. fellowships in Jewish
studies. Recently, filmmaker-pro-
ducer Steven Spielberg's Right-
eous Persons Foundation pro-
vided a lead grant of $650,000 to
the NFJC for its Fund for Jewish
Documentary Filmmaking.
The federal government's
grant, Mr. Zeltzer said, was a
pleasant surprise. "All I know is,
we showed that this kind of Jew-
ish scholarship permeates to the
general public as well. It has a
public interest."
Mandell Berman, the other
George M.
Zelizer
Mandell
Berman
lead donor, said the fellowship is
intended to encourage scholar-
ship in the area of demographic
research.
"Jewish demography is really
Jewish sociology. We don't just
count heads; we count the char-
8p.m.
"THE
Jan nary Monday,
VOICE
6, '97
at
LEFT
BEHIND, Temple Is
SURVIVORS
OF Loss"
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
presented by
Dr. Marilyn K. Gilbert,
Clinical Psychologist
12
Unnerving
Study At U-M
acter of the current Jewish pop-
ulation," he said. "We need in the
American Jewish community
more Ph.D.s interested in this
field."
ALAN HITSKY ASSOCIATE EDITOR
Mr. Berman, a former presi-
dent of the Council of Jewish Fed-
It's the busiest time of the year
erations, established almost 10
for the UGLI — just before final
years ago the Berman Data Bank
exams — and the fliers have
at the City University of New
been found by at least 60 stu-
York that serves as a clearing-
dents.
house of demographic studies.
Anti-Semitic, anti-black,
The information is
stuffed into books in the stacks
available to planners,
of the University of Michigan's
academicians and the
Undergraduate Library (UGLI),
media.
the leaflets are from the New
The other local fam-
Order neo-Nazi group in Mil-
ilies that made sup-
waukee, Wis.
porting gifts toward the
The major concentration of
fellowship were Helen
leaflets has been found during
and Harry August, Lois
the last month in books in the
and Avern Cohn, Bud
UGLI's Holocaust and history
and Dorothy Gerson,
sections, with others found in
and Joel and Shelley the philosophy, religion and sci-
Tauber.
ence collections. UGLI director
The Jewish Federa-
Linda TerHaar is aware of 60
tion of Metropolitan
that have been found by U-M
Detroit will donate
students, although some pub-
$5,000 a year for two
lished reports said 200 have
years to the endowment, said
been turned in to campus police.
Federation's executive vice pres-
According to the Anti-De-
ident Robert Aronson.
famation League, New Order is
The only demographic study of the successor to the National
the Jewish community in metro-
Socialist White People's Party
politan Detroit was completed six
and the American Nazi Party,
years ago. Mr. Aronson said Fed-
and is the largest and oldest
eration is considering funding an-
neo-Nazi group in the United
other local study in 1998. ❑
States. ❑
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