Agency Plans Center in Israel for Judaica Chairs in Overseas Universities

The Jewish Agency’s Education and Culture Department has decided to establish here a Center for Hebrew and Judaica Chairs at Foreign Universities, according to Department head Halm Finkelstein. The center will be a clearing house for the recruitment of professors and lecturers. Israel’s three major universities–the Weizmann Institute, the Technion and the Hebrew University–have pledged their cooperation, as has the Foreign Ministry. An additional function of the center will be the promotion of new Judaica chairs. Mr. Finkeistein said also that a pilot project of the “Bridge of Brotherhood” scholastic scheme has succeeded beyond expectations. Five more high school classes from Argentina, Uruguay and possibly Chile are to follow in the current school year. The scheme provides for the pupils’ joining regular classes at their grade levels in Israeli schools and for their living with the families of their temporary classmates. The headmasters of 30 Israeli schools have announced that they would like to receive such guest classes. Some 120 Jewish high school pupils will arrive soon from South Africa for a year’s stay. Their studies in this country will be recognized by the South African Ministry of Education. Mr. Finkeistein said that 1,100 Jewish educators had arrived in Israel for training this year, with another 400 expected. That is 50 percent more than last year. Mr. Finkeistein noted that 80 percent of the 2,000 Jewish teachers in Argentina were trained in Israel at the Greenberg Institute, which will soon be expanded and moved to larger premises and which has modern facilities for Hebrew study. The activities of the Education and Culture Department now cover around 250,000 Jewish pupils in 2,000 schools in 27 countries, he said.