Jewish Cultural Institute to Serve the Needs of Jewish Students on City University Campuses

The Jewish Cultural Institute, an independent student group financed by funds provided by both the day and evening session student governments, has secured an office in one of the campus buildings and is now officially opening its doors to serve the needs of Jewish students, it was announced here today by Elly Rosen, director of the Institute. According to Rosen, the Institute is the “first and only one of its kind in the City University (CUNY) system.” It was formed in September 1970 to care for the cultural and religious needs of the 18,000 Jewish students on the campus, 5,000 of these Orthodox. Rosen noted that while the needs of Black and Puerto Rican students on the campus are catered to specifically by official recognized college-sponsored “Institutes,” the college “has yet to establish an official “Jewish Institute.” He stated that “one of our major goals is to be adopted by the college and become recognized as a college-sponsored organization. It is my hope that eventually Brooklyn College will assume its responsibilities towards all of its total student community.” The actual purposes of the office. Rosen told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, is many-fold.

“First, we hope to act as a direct or intermediary negotiating agency with the Brooklyn College administration and the Board of Higher Education on issues of concern to Orthodox and Jewish students in general,” he said. Kosher food, enforcement of rules concerning excused absences on Jewish holidays, and guarantee of multiple sections for courses offered on Friday night and Saturday will be among some of the needs cared for by the Institute. The Institute also projects acting as an on-campus headquarters and coordinating agency for Brooklyn College Jewish groups. An aim of the Institute is to serve as a storehouse and distribution center for materials relating to all Jewish oriented programs and areas of Jewish concern. One of the major projects of the Institute is the publication of “Bas-Kol” an Orthodox-oriented student newspaper, distributed in Brooklyn College and other branches of the CUNY system. The 16-page “pilot” issue was published this week and will be published monthly. The purpose of the paper is to counter the anti-Israel anti-Semitic propaganda circulated on the campus by leftist and black militant groups and to serve as a sounding board for the Jewish students. The Jewish Cultural Institute was originally founded by Mr. Rosen as the Jewish Cultural Expansion Program in 1969, to “combat ignorance through education,” by presenting a series of Jewish cultural exhibitions.