Dr. A. A. Roback, of the University of Boston, has addressed a letter to the Tenth Psychological Congress meeting in Copenhagen from August 22nd to 29th, suggesting that in the future a Jewish delegation be recognized as representatives of that nationality instead of the various countries to which they belong as formerly.
“I should like to propose,” Dr. Roback declared, “and hope that a member of the tenth Psychological Congress will move that at the future congresses, a Jewish delegation, representing the ten million Jews who carry on their culture in Yiddish, be accepted as representatives of that nationality, as it should be recognized by psychologists at any rate that a people may be a psychologically distinct unit, even without the possession of a political territory.
“The International Pen Club has already recognized this fact some years ago when it formally encouraged the establishment of a Yiddish Pen Club with branches in different parts of the world.
“Although a number of Jews are on the program of the various congresses, they do not represent their people but their country, where they have become thoroughly assimilated. The Yiddish culture is thus entirely unrepresented. Inasmuch as there are higher institutions where psychology is taught in Yiddish and psychologists who write in Yiddish, particularly in the publications of the Yiddish Scientific Institute, one of whose sections is devoted to psychology and pedagogy. I respectfully submit that these should not be ignored, but should be treated as if they belonged to an autochthonous nationality. I should make the same claim for the gypsies, should they be making contributions to psychology in their own language,” Dr. Roback declares.
Chicago Council of Avukah is tendering a reception to the Jewish students who attend the summer sessions of the Chicago universities, on August 19. The reception is to be in the form of an “Oneg Shabbot” and will feature a Palestine musical program.
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