A sharp critique of present Jewish priorities and concerns was expressed by Dr. Immanuel Jakobovits, Chief Rabbi of the British Commonwealth, who warned against “breeding a Holocaust mentality “and emphasizing the survival of Jews over the survival of Judaism. Jakobovits spoke on “a cultural prospectus for the “80s” at the annual meeting of the Board of Trustees of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture held here earlier this month. He urged the Foundation to undertake a global and historic review of its tasks.
He said it should see the Holocaust, for example, not as a reason for perpetual despair but as a good to affirmative Jewish living in order to assure the survival of Judaism. He said he regretted that Zionism had set itself too limited a goal. The creation of a Jewish State to secure the survival of Jews is not enough; Israel must aspire to become a state exemplifying the survival of Judaism through the realization of the noblest Jewish virtues in the prophetic tradition, the British Chief Rabbi said.
“Would it not be a catastrophic perversion of the Jewish spirit if brooding over the Holocaust were to become a substantial element in the Jewish purpose and if the anxiety to prevent another Holocaust were to be relied upon as an essential incentive to Jewish activity?” he asked. “The slogan ‘Never Again,’ now so popular is a poor substitute for purposeful Jewish living as a potent driving force to promote Jewish vitality.”
Continuing, Jakobovits said “We exist not in order to prevent our own destruction, but to advance our special assignment, embodying the ageless values which are our national raison dieter. We must shift the current emphasis on the survival of Jews to the survival of Judaism. For without Judaism, Jewish survival is both questionable and meaningless.”
He observed, in that connection, that “Instead of making and holding up Israel as the only country in the world where one can live a fully Jewish life, our propaganda — whether for fundraising or aliya — has projected it not as a sanctuary, attracting Jews by its holiness, but primarily as an asylum for the homeless, a haven of security for Jews in danger. And once it can no longer offer this security, the attraction is vitiated and the supporters are liable to be disenchanted,” Jakobovits said.
SITUATION OF SOVIET JEWS
He cited the situation of Soviet Jews as an example, recalling that on his return from a visit to the USSR several years ago he was a target of abuse for advocating adding “‘Let my people live’ to the slogan ‘Let my people go,’ convinced that if we did not work hard at the regeneration of some Jewish life inside Russia and among the emigrants as soon as they left Russia, the wells of Soviet allya would dry up for lack of Jewish idealism.”
Jakobovits noted that “Now, with 70 percent or more of Russian emigrants opting for settlement in other countries because they were not induced to seek a Jewish life, the abuse has given way to consternation . . . . What have we achieved by bringing them out if, as a result they will be even less conscious of being Jews than they were before?” he asked.
Jakobovits said that Zionism has failed to realize one of its primary goals. “By creating a national ### of Jewish life the Zionist idea was to fortify the ramparts of Jewish pride and belonging against the tide of drift and defection. Nothing like this has happened,” the Chief Rabbi observed. “We now sustain more casualties by assimilation and intermarriage in the free world than through persecution, war or terror in the whole world.”
ALLOCATION OF $1,814,825 FOR PROGRAMS
The Board of Trustees approved an allocation of $1,814,825 for a variety of cultural programs in more than 15 countries. They include doctoral scholarships to prepare future scholars, teachers and rabbis, fellowships to aid and encourage research scholars, writers and artists; support for special training programs for rabbis, educators and Jewish communal workers; grants for Jewish research and publication; support for Jewish studies programs at universities; and allocations for programs to document and commemorate the Holocaust.
The Board of Trustees is composed of the representatives of 48 international and national Jewish cultural and religious organizations that reflect all of the major trends in contemporary Jewish life.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
