OTHER VIEWS

On Campus, A Search For Answers

dents hanging out, watching television
Washin on, D.C.
and talking with staff members. High
ollege students experienced
Holy Day services, always full, over-
the same bewilderment,
flowed this year. The students also
shock, fear and anger at the
took action. They distributed red-
terrorist attacks on America as
white-and-blue-ribbons, collected
the rest of us, but more intensely. One
donations, gave blood and organized
student turned to a Hillel professional at
interfaith prayer vigils. On many cam-
Indiana University in Bloomington and
puses, Jewish students stood
said, "You're the closest thing
with their Muslim and Arab
to a mother I have here.
counterparts to reject ethnic
Would you give me a hug?"
hatred.
We all needed hugs.
The current crisis has
As the largest organization
heightened sensitivities we
devoted to working with
have long seen in the current
Jewish college students in
generation of students. They
the world, Hillel and its pro-
have a longing for commu-
fessionals provided comfort
nity, a need to fill their lives
and support to thousands of
with meaning, a desire to •
Jewish students when they
RICHARD M.
relate to the world as more
first learned of the attacks.
JOEL
than an - identification num-
The terrorism hit just as stu-
Special
ber, e-mail address or a
dents were in that vulnerable
Commentary
screen name. The impulse to
transition period, moving from
come together as a commu-
home to campus, with all the
nity and to take action in the wake of
concomitant apprehensions and h opes.
the tragedy filled a deep hunger.
They were uprooted from the supports
The moral complexities that have
of friends and family. Those studying out
arisen in recent weeks are baffling to
of state were deprived of the lifeboat of a
many students and have awakened
quick flight home.
long-dormant issues. These young peo-
In those first few terrible days after
ple have been raised to be relativists, to
Sept. 11, we contacted hundreds of
see two sides to every question, to shun
campus professionals and advisers
moral absolutes and avoid confronta-
across North America to offer assis-
tion. The sheer evil of killing so many
tance and to learn how students were
people upset their worldview.
reacting. The young people sought
comfort and community with fellow
students in their dorms, student unions
Gaining Understanding
and in organizations such as Hillel.
Students are equally baffled by the polit-
Our buildings were filled with stu-
ical realities of the Middle East. For
Richard M. Joel is president and
them, the Middle East conflict is both
international director of Hillel.• The
coldly abstract and painfully personal.
Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.
On the one hand, they lack the vis-
ceral understanding of history and
His e-mail address is rjoel@hillel.org

geography of the region: The vast
majority can't tell the difference
between Oman and Amman, or give
the decade of the Six-Day War.
On the other hand, they share dorm
rooms and classrooms with young
people who have strong Middle
Eastern connections. College students
live and study in a compact, multi-
ethnic microcosm that compresses the
real world into an inescapable "in-
your-face" community.
Students have turned to our staff for
answers — as if anyone has answers.
The following points have helped to
make some sense of a senseless situa-
tion and to provide some comfort
amid the chaos:
You are okay. You have a communi-
ty that listens to you, cares about you
and will help you through this. We
are all in this together.
Have faith — faith in God, faith in
our country. Often, the first answer is
prayer and reflection. It grounds you.
Be proud of who you are. Fly your
flag. Celebrate your holidays and beliefs.
Express your opinions. Sometimes,
maintaining a position isn't being con-
frontational, it's being principled.
Listen to one another and be respect-
ful. Tolerance is at the heart of the
American dream. Honor your neigh-
bor's opinion, even his right to be
wrong. Help your neighbor. Someone
needs you — and you need to be need-
ed. There is strength in community.

To Herring, that means creating
"network Judaism," which would
allow people to find their own forms
of Jewish expression via the Internet,
television and whatever else it takes.
(The Jewish Theological Seminary of
America asks in the fall issue of ITS
Magazine: "Is there an Internet min-
yan in our future?" The answer is
"Yes, but ...”)
Jewish networks can succeed,
Herring believes, "if we are more inter-
ested in connecting than castigating."

its own kind of networking years ago.
My parents were non-observant,
and once I became bar mitzvah, they
didn't care whether I continued my
formal Jewish education. (I didn't.)
Nevertheless, we had many Jewish
connections. My father belonged to
the Knights of Pythias, a Jewish frater-
nal group; my mother was a devoted
member of ORT and I was in B'nai
Brith Youth. And there was plenty of
mammaloschen (mother tongue) tossed
around the house — my parents used
Yiddish as their secret code.
Today, I seek a deeper connection
with my Jewishness, one that will
both include a synagogue membership
and transcend it. So you will see me at
the Jewish Book Festival, the Jewish
Film Festival and at other venues
around Atlanta where Jews are con-

MENAKER from page 31

"sovereign Jewish self" — where peo-
ple expect choices tailored to their
wants "and feel free to do what they
want regarding Judaism."
So, how do our organizations
respond, Cohen asksifiDo they become
more market-driven? Maintain the old
truths for their core members? Or
invent new forms of community that
are both innovative and traditional?
Cohen has no clear answer beyond
suggesting that North America's 189
Jewish federations help provide a
framework that will allow people to
connect on an intimate level as well as
in larger arenas.

.

Bob Menaker is editor of our sister
paper, the Atlanta Jewish Times.

11/23
2001

32

Personalized Networking

Given that a recent poll by Cohen found
far more American Jews interested in
social issues and causes than religious
matters, Herring may be on to some-
thing. My family, for example, was doing

Knowing The Difference

We must not see our military action as
a conflict between Islam and the West:
It's about terrorism and its purveyors.
Any individual, group or country

can have political beliefs that differ
from our own. However, it is wrong,
by any standard of ethics or law, to
express that political belief by taking
the lives of more than 6,000 inno-
cents — or even one. We cannot hand
the killers a victory by debating their
political motivations and giving them
legitimacy. They died as murderers,
not martyrs. It would be a desecration
for any group to extract political gain
from this tragedy.
Some ideals are worth fighting for: life,
liberty, the pursuit of happiness. These
"inalienable rights" Were enshrined in our
Declaration of Independence and remain
fundamental to American life. As it says
on the Korean War memorial, "Freedom
is not free."
Seek understanding. Talk to your
mentors. Read. Draw strength from the
basic documents of our country and
traditions. Hillel has created a one-page
edition of the Preamble to the U.S.
Constitution with explanations and
illustrations drawn from the Bible and
rabbinic literature. We hope that stu-
dents will use this tool to engage in
conversations on the nature of democ-
racy, patriotism and faith.
Today, weeks after Sept. 11, the ini-
tial shock may have dissipated, but new
insecurities continue to arise. Students
are still turning to adults on campus in
search of guidance. (Some, I'm sure, are
even swallowing their pride and calling
home more often.) On dozens of cam-
puses across the country; students and
faculty have gotten the tie-dyed tradi-
tion of the teach-in out of mothballs.
This is as it should be — enlighten-
ment growing from the darkness of ter-
rorism. Let us hope that healing may
come from understanding. ❑

netting.
If the Jewish community is to thrive
in the 21st century, all of us must
work harder to network, says Beryl
Geber, a dean at Los Angeles'
University of Judaism, who spoke
along with Cohen and Herring at the
General Assembly.
"We may need to do more book
groups, investment clubs and dinner
groups to find the vehicles that make
[Jewish institutions] part of people's
lives," said Geber.
To those people for whom religious
observance is the most important part of
their Jewish identity, this is all nonsense.
But for the other 75 percent — accord-
ing to Cohen's survey — this is reality.
Jews can't be "ostriches with our
heads in the sand," Geber warned. "Or
we'll end up [extinct like] dodos." ❑