“Without the development of a sound system of Jewish education in America, American Jews in generations to come will gain little from the great cultural renaissance taking place in Israel, and the close relationship between the two communities, which we all so urgently desire, will be seriously endangered,” Michael A. Stavitsky, president of the American Association for Jewish Education, declared upon his return from Israel at a press conference here today.
Mr. Stavitsky, who visited the major educational and cultural institutions during his six-week visit to Israel, declared: “The tempo of cultural creativity in modern Israel is so great that one is overwhelmed. If properly channeled to America, it is bound to give new content and new meaning to our lives as Jews.”
Judah Pilch, executive director of the Association, reported to the conference that the high level of interest in Jewish education at the present time presents “an unparalleled opportunity for cooperative endeavor on the part of all organizations interested in expansion and improvement of Jewish education.”
In its work in communities throughout the country, he said, the Association has discovered that American Jews desire to live in accord with an affirmative attitude towards Jewish group life, that there is universal recognition of the indispensability of Jewish education in any positive American Jewish pattern, and that there is a genuine desire on the part of all national groups to cooperate on a mutual basis.
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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.
