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Youth Behind The Scenes
From the pages of The Jewish News
for this week 10, 20, 30, 40 and 50
years ago.
Politically active young Jews buck the trend toward _political indifference.
1990
The Wayne State University Library
received a collection of 1,800
Yiddish books from Congregation
Shaarey Zedek.
Michael Neuvirth, a local attor-
ney, published three booklets on
doing business with Israel.
Overcoming The Media
SHIRT BILIK
Special to the Jewish News
A
t age 19, Michael Simon will
be eligible to vote for the
first time in November. He
is one of 14 million mem-
bers of the so-called Generation Y, the
first generation to exceed Baby Boomers
in size — and a demographic bloc that
could decide this election.
Yet only about 25 percent of these
newly eligible voters actually will exer-
cise their right to vote (Newsweek, July
9).
In fact, political engagement among
young people is experiencing a record
low since 1972, when 18-year-olds got
the right to vote. According to the
Fed8ral. Elections Commission, voter
turnout among this age group has
decrease\dsome 36 percent between
1972 and 1996.
"There is an overall apathy among
our generation when it comes to poli-
tics," said Matthew Schwartz, a
University of Michigan senior and edi-
tor of the campus' conservative publica-
tion, the Michigan Review. "It's kind of
depressing."
Simon, a U-M sophomore originally
from Birmingham, agreed. He said he is
disheartened by his age group's inaction.
"It's very frustrating to me. People don't
feel like politics is a way to make
change."
Yet as deputy field director for the
Democratic Coordinating Campaign in
Michigan's llth District, Simon is a
direct affront to his generation's stereo-
type. In fact, as the media continues to
draw attention to these dire statistics, a
growing number of young Jews are
proving them wrong.
Prime examples include Ari
Fleischer, the Bush campaign's deputy
communications director, and Julia
Cohen, executive director of the non-
partisan Youth Vote 2000 coalition.
Youth Vote helped put together Vice
President Al Gore's recent appearance
on cable's MTV as part of a campaign
to encourage young people to become
politically active.
,
Cohen commented on what she said
was a jaded attitude among media about
the state of young political involvement.
She said it isn't apathy that's keeping
young people away.
"They're cynical, but they're totally
passionate about the issues," she said,
adding that a growing number of young
journalists are covering the more positive
aspects of the relationship between
youth and politics.
Schwartz agreed that positive aspects
exist, saying that while many college stu-
dents seem uncaring, "there are a lot of
students who eat, drink and sleep poli-
tics."
They are students like Brian Reich
and Seth Oppenheim, who are serving,
respectively, as briefing-book directors
for Al Gore and Sen. Joseph Lieberman.
"I find great enjoyment in helping
people," Reich said. "There is no greater
medium for doing that than politics."
Reich is currently taking time off from
what would be his junior year at U-M
to travel with the vice president's cam-
paign. Reich is coordinating and updat-
ing the information Gore needs to keep
current.
Oppenheim graduated from U-M in
2000 and is postponing law school so he
can provide the same service for
Lieberman. "I wanted to do my part
and be a part of history," he said.
According to Schwartz, courting the
efforts and energy of young people like
Reich and Oppenheim is a lucrative
investment for any campaigning politi-
cian.
"[Students] are passionate, well-
informed and have huge networks of
friends they can mobilize en masse," he
said. "They can jumpstart a political
campaign."
Having Lieberman as a vice-presiden-
tial candidate could specifically help to
bring young Jews on board the political
process, Reich suggested.
"With Sen. Lieberman on the ticket,
things only improve," he said. "Every
American Jew out there looks at
Lieberman and sees a role model."
Michael Masters, a U-M senior who
heads the State of Michigan's Students
for Gore, agreed. "The choice gives an
added connection for a lot of people,"
he said. "It makes you feel a certain
amount of welcome, a certain amount
of spirit."
Simon said he would be more apt to
vote for a candidate like Lieberman
because, as a young Jewish person, he
thinks he and the candidate believe in
similar ideals, such as fairness, equality
and justice.
According to Reich, being raised with
such values pushes young Jewish people
towards becoming "civically engaged."
He said, "As a community that faces
discrimination and endures hardships, it
is a natural thing for us to get involved."
Motivating The Masses
While Reich and his colleagues are
already active participants in the political
process, involvement doesn't come as
naturally for many others their age. The
challenge still remains for the candidates
to appeal to the average young voter.
Both campaigns are finally trying to
do just that, Masters said, as shown by
the publicity for the politically active
George Prescott Bush, nephew of Gov.
George W. Bush, and Karenna Gore
Schiff, Al Gore's daughter. Both are in
their 20s.
Some of the more successful efforts at
courting the youth vote have come from
third-party candidates, like Ralph
Nader. Reich said Nader captivates
young voters by appealing to their sense
of disenfranchisement from the "big
two" political parties. This sense of dis-
enfranchisement is embodied by a
Newsweek poll that found 64 percent of
Generation Y-ers agree the country
should have a third major political party.
This is not a bad trend, Masters said.
If third-party candidates are causing pre-
viously uninvolved young people to
become more involved, then he thinks
they are a positive influence on the
political arena. Quoting former
President George Bush, Masters said,
"Anything that brings the process closer
to the people is all for the good." 0
1980
In an outdoor mass in Rome, Pope
John Paul II told the gathering that
the creation of Israel was responsi-
ble for the plight of the Palestinian
people.
Rabbi Arnold Jacob Wolf, leav-
ing his position as chaplain at Yale
University, called the school "cal-
lous" in its treatment of Jews.
Hosea, a translation of the bibli-
cal book of the prophet, was co-
authored by U-M Professor David
Noel Freedman and Francis I.
Andersen and released by
Doubleday Publishing Co.
At the Jewish Center in Detroit,
David B. Brown was installed as
president of the Businessmen's Club
and David Gornbein installed as
president of the Culture Club.
Detroiters Mrs. Alfred Taubman,
Mrs. Nathan Shaye and Mrs. Harry
Becker attended the Women's
American ORT National Executive
Board Conference in Boston.
A Yom Kippur service in sign lan-
guage was held at Los Angeles'
Wilshire Boulevard Temple.
1950
Sean McBride, minister for exter-
nal affairs in Dublin, praised the
Jews of Eire for their efforts on
behalf of national causes.
B. Israel, leader of the Jewish com-
munity in Izmir, Turkey, was elected
to the city's municipal council.
Irving Berg of Leslie Street in
Detroit received the Henry Monsky
Service Fellowship from District
Grand Lodge of B'nai B'rith.
— Compiled by Sy Manello,
editorial assistant
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