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Jewish Education is Still Stepchild of American Jewry, Educator Complains

May 28, 1962
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Dr. Isaac Toubin of New York, executive director of the American Association for Jewish Education, asserted in an address here that almost every cause but Jewish education was attracting lavish funds from American Jews.

Speaking at the 21st annual dinner of the Greater Miami Bureau of Jewish Education, Dr. Toubin said that vast sums were being “spent for and by Jewish community relations organizations,” as against “the pittance spent for Jewish education” at a time “when anti-Semitism has reached its lowest ebb in the United States.”

“Throughout this great country we are building supermarkets of religion, but we haven’t enough rabbis, teachers or even members to fill them,” he said. He criticized non-sectarian institutions of higher learning “which are sectarian institutions without Jewish programs.”

He cited data that while the number of Jewish schools has doubled since 1949, the percentage of allocations for Jewish education remained unchanged in 1962 compared with 13 years ago. He added that the responsibility for this situation was “not that of Federations alone. Jews simply don’t give enough to their Federations nor do they give enough to Jewish education.”

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