C.o.j.o. Decides to Convene World Assembly on Jewish Education

The first world Jewish assembly to discuss problems of Jewish education in the countries outside of Israel will convene in Jerusalem on August 12 this year, according to a joint announcement today by Dr. Nahum Goldmann and Label A. Katz, chairman and co-chairman, of the World Conference of Jewish Organizations, sponsor of the assembly, The assembly will be in session for six days.

The deliberations of the assembly, which will be attended by some 200 elected delegates from all parts of the globe, will “give special emphasis to the formulation of a program to counteract the trends of assimilation and cultural disintegration which are making serious inroads in Jewish life in all countries outside of Israel,” the announcement said.

The World Conference of Jewish Organizations–known as COJO–is the coordinating and deliberating body of major Jewish organizations on five continents and has the twofold aim of safeguarding Jewish rights wherever they may be threatened and the perpetuation of Jewish consciousness and identification by combating Jewish cultural disintegration through assimilation.

COJO includes among its constituent organizations: The American Jewish Congress, B’nai B’rith, Board of Deputies of British Jews, Canadian Jewish Congress, Conseil Representatif Des Juifes France, Delegacion De Asociaciones Israelitas Argentinas, Executive Council of Australian Jewry, Jewish Labor Committee, South African Jewish Board of Deputies and the World Jewish Congress. The Jewish Agency for Israel participates as an observer.

Making public the initial preparations for the forthcoming world assembly, Yehuda Hellman, secretary general of COJO, disclosed that the number of delegates from each country will be based on the size of the Jewish community and that the United States is therefore expected to be represented by the largest single delegation. Mr. Philip Lown, president of the American Association for Jewish Education, has been appointed chairman of the American delegation.

“The formation of preparatory committees, comprised of outstanding educators, is now under way in the United States, Europe, Latin America and Israel, to gather and draft background material for participating organizations,” the announcement said. “Delegates to the assembly will also be furnished with the results of a number of research projects on the status of Jewish education in various countries. The conference is being called by national and international Jewish organizations and institutions in addition to those affiliated with COJO, so that all schools of Jewish thought and education will be represented, the statement emphasized.