SERVING NEBRASKA, IOWA Vol. LXII No. 5
Omaha, Neb., Fri., September 30,1983
Denver park becomes memorial to Babi Yar
u push-button to tell visitors the frightful htory of Haiti Ynr. The People Place Amphitheater, near the A 27-ncte park on city property, commemorating the World War II mas.i mur- entrance to the park, provides the citizens der* ol Bnbi Yar, near Kiev, where some of Denver with a tranquil spot for cere200,000 Jews, Ukrainians and other ethnic monies, concerts and celebration!), (iuss groups were systematically slaughtered by said this portion of the park is in the form Now extermination units, has been opened of n blue-grass Iwwl witjj a central circular granite platform. in Denver. The centerpiece of the park is a Star of Denver'* Babi Yor park has been in the planning stones since 1971 when the Babi David, formed by a series of paths cut Yar Park Foundation was formed to plan through the grasses. Three points in the star and fund the pork. Alan Gam, foundation terminate in memorial elements telling the president, Mid that, in 1080, the Ukrainian history of the daughter. Rabbi Raymond Babi Yar Park Committee joined the Babi Zwerin of Denver's Temple Sinai wrote the Yar Park Foundation to give an additional inscriptions for all monuments in the park. symbolic and broader meaning to the park. Class naid. The Ukrainian community in Denver nlso The Grow of Remembrance, a formal contributed financially toward a completion planting of KM) trees, was developed to be a of the pork. living memorial to the men, women and ('•ana gait) the park "will become a living children who were murdered at Babi Yar, symbol of the concern for the security nnd (Sans said. well-being of persflhs everywhere, regardHft snid the Bnbi Ynr park beam "n less of religion, race or citizenship." haunting resemblance" to the original Babi (ioiis dcocrilted the park as the first free Yar site in the Ukraine ax it wan in 1911, world memorial to the victim* of the Bnbi during the Gorman occupation, with ravine Yar ma** murder*. There are n nurnl>er of and similar topography, climate and plant memorial!! to the victims of the Holocaust, life, mo*t <if them on Jewish communal property A ptirk feature is ft narrow, three-foot but ti number on public kites in several wide bridge spanning the ravine, The bridge dtiw. has seven-foot high vertical sides and only (ia*» said n feature of the park i» a two horizontal Riots on each side permitting "talking monument." which is activated by a limited view of the ravine. By Den Callob
JCAC opens Fall Semester with speaker The Jewish Cultural Arts Council will open (he fall semester of the College of Jewish Family Learning with a lecture by Deborah Dash Moore on Oct. 9, 7:30 p.m., at the JCC. Ms. Dash Moore is the chairman of the Department of Religion at Vn.ssnr College. She is the author of At Homo in America; Hccond Genera' tion N e w York JCWB and B'nni
B'rith and the C h a l l e n g e of Ethnic Leadership. Her topic will be "Jewish geography nnd the iden- Deborah Dash Moore tity of American Jews." The public may attend the lecture nnd meet Ms, Dash Moore at a reception following the lecture. Ms. Dash Moore ,'IB the kick-off speaker for the College of Jewish Family Learning, which begins classes the following night, Oct. 10. Clawtfft will continue every Monday night for a total of six weeks, Jewish languages, culture, holidays, and music arc among the courses offered. Detailed listinga of class titles and times* appear elsewhere in
this issue of the Jewish Press and in brochures which are available at the JCC and at Omaha synagogues. According to Margie Outnik, cochuirman of the College of Jewish Family learning, "Ms. Dash Moore comes to us very highly recommended by other communities for the well defined content and charming presentation of her lectures." She graduated with honors from Brandeis University in 1907. Her MA and PhD were earned from Columbia University in 1968 and 1975. She has received many grantfi and fellowships from such presffgeous bodies as the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Andrew Mellon Foundation. She taught at the Weinreich Center for Advanced Jewish Studies, YIVO, and at Montclnir State College. In addition to her teaching and administrative duties at Vussar, Ms. Dash Moore is a member of the Hoard of Directors of the Association for Jewish Studies. She is the author of numerous articles published in professional journals wnd iringmincH. Dorecn I^erner, cochairman has announced, "the theme for the I!W.') Fall semester is Accomplish Komcthing thin year! Make lime for Jewi«h studies. We hope the members of the Omaha Jewish community take advantage of this opportunity." For more information call 3.')4-820O.
Strengthening the Jewish school system By Boris Smolor (Kdliurln-chtsf crotrllu«, J .T.A.I (Copyright IDH3, Jewbh Trtr«r«phlr Agency. Inf.)
The Jewiah new school year «Uirt« with strong determination on the part of the organized Jewish communities — the Jewish Federations — to intensify their efforts on behalf of Jewish education, especially in the field of Mrengthening the Jewish school system. Enrollment in Jewish schools of all types — except in the religious dny schools — hfl» declined about 45 percent during the last lfi years. There were about 600,000 pupils in the school syitlein in 1968; there are currently only about 350,000. The loan would have liccn even greater had not the religious day schools shown substantial growth in enrollment. Their increase came, to n considerable extent, from families who reached thin country from the Soviet Union and sought to give their children a Jewish education; from children of Iranian families admitted into the U.S. who were traditionally religious; and from many familie* of "yordim" who led Israel to nettle in the United States. Further substantial increases in the religious all-day (schools ore hardly expected. In fact, enrollment in those Bchools has begun to
level off, according to the Council of Jewish Federations. The CJF estimates that there are about a million Jewish children of school ngc in the U.S. A third of them are not sent to a Jewish ftchool, their parents being totally indifferent to giving their children a Jewish education. About another third drops out from Jewish schools after Bar Milzvah or Bat Mitzvnh. The minimum of Jewish education they received evaporates during the years of their growth. With the continuing decline in the number of pupils in the Jewish afternoon and weekend schools, which are maintained by Jewish congregations and Jewish groups of various ideologies, the question is now posed: What in going to happen to Jcwhh schools 10 years from now and later? The concern of Jewish leadership about Jewish education in general and about the fate of the Jewish schools in particular — especially the need of providing forceful leadership in the promotion of the idea among parents that by not sending their children to Jewish schools they are weakening Jewish family ties and undermining Jewish continuance — found expression in the. recent reconstitution of the American Association of Jewish Education (AAJE). After an extensive review of the AAJE, conducted in co-
operation with the Council of Jewish Federations, the AAJE was reconstituted as (he Jewish Education Service of North America (JESNA), designed to meet more effectively local communal needs in the area of Jewish education. JESNA will concentrate on providing competent guidance and assistance in analyzing community problems related to Jewish education. It will also clarify the appropriate roles of Federations and institutional sponsors of Jewish educational programs. It will counsel Federations and central community educational instumentalities in their efforts to support and strengthen Jewish education under institutional and community auspices. It will continue to maintain ongoing relations with national religious and ideological bodies and other national organizations active in maintaining Jewish schools as well as in other educational programs, What are the factors that lead to the decline in enrollment in the Jewish school system? A major factor is, of course, the lower birthrate among •lews. Since less children are born there arc less to be sent (continued from page 1)
The precious legacy: Judaic treasures from the Czechoslovak state collections (see story on page 10)
iv.i
View of I'rni{ue'» Jewish Quarter Silver Tornl) crown
Curators sorting and cataloguing objects
Tombstones top graves
Torah curtain
Passover plutc
Portrait of young girl
Confiocated violinx