CONC
FASHI N
SEE RUNWAY AND ROADWAY MERGE
IN AN EVENING OF
HIGH-GEAR ENTERTAINMENT.
e\citing
See fabulous fashions
as
five
exclusive
usical
performances
raa
vehicles are unveiled by renowned
designei Joseph Abboud, Vivienne Tam,
Nicholas Graham for JOE BOXER,
BCBG's Max Azria, Dana Buchman and
Karen Harman, all to fight breast cancer.
Monday, January 4, 1999
OLy Fa House
Cocktail Rec,Ttion: 8pm
Show 9pm
Ticket price: $125
.weds benefit al: , Barbara Ann
Between classes, students gather to talk in the hallways.
ROAD AHEAD from page 12
appropriate format," improve the
quality of education and recognize
"changing realities within the Jewish
community as a whole."
However, the move to single-sex
classrooms was a shift that some par-
ents saw as reversing the ideals of
Akiva's founders.
When the decision was announced,
parent Isaac Lakritz told The Jewish
News that separate classes reflected a
shift to the right. In a December
interview, he said he still is concerned
by the shift, which he sees as part of a
global trend toward fundamentalism.
Due to financial concerns and low
enrollment in the high school, many
secular classes have remained co-ed,
despite the 1995 policy. But for a
combination of educational and reli-
gious reasons, Akiva does offer single-
sex classes whenever possible, said
Gross.
The school recently initiated
another gender division by creating a
separate prayer service for girls, some-
thing some see as another right-wing
move. Supporters, however, see it as a
feminist initiative that enables girls to
participate more fully in prayer. Girls
still have the option of attending the
boys' service.
Many of those who say Akiva is
moving to the right claim that Gross
and the Judaic studies teachers he has
hired espouse views that are inconsis-
tent with centrist Orthodox ideals.
Charles Stuart, a student who left
Akiva at the end of the 1995-96 acad-
emic year, recalls Gross giving speech-
es at assemblies that were "hard to
swallow.
"He would say things like, if you
don't wash your hands before you eat,
then bad spirits will enter. He also
suggested once that the Holocaust
occurred because of God's anger about
the Reform movement," said Stuart.
In a February 1998 deposition
taken during a lawsuit against Akiva
by former teacher Edward Codish,
Gross acknowledged telling students
that if they did not say "amen"
promptly enough after a prayer or
blessing, they would likely face prema-
ture death. He also acknowledged
telling students it is possible that there
might be evil spirits on their hands
and said that "it's a possibility" that
the Holocaust was caused by God's
anger.
A copy of the deposition was made
available to The Jewish News.
Yeshiva University's Schiff said the
views expressed in Gross' deposition
are not representative of centrist
Orthodoxy. Located in New York,
Yeshiva University is considered the
academic hub of centrist Orthodoxy.
"There are some ultra-Orthodox
teachers that say that," Schiff said of
Karmanos Cancer Institute_
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ongratulations -
TONY AVERBUCH
on your appointment as Fire Chief for Franklin and Bingham Farms
From all of us who love you and are so very proud of you.
Dad & Lon), • Morn & Sandy
David & Julie Corkery
Patty Corkery (the future Mrs. Averbach)
(mot Brother, Sal13117)/ Averbach
1/1
199
Detroit Jewish News
15