Jewish education in the diaspora was still the major topic at the annual plenary meeting of the World Conference of Jewish Organizations (COJO) here. Isaiah Minkoff, representing the Jewish Labor Committee in the US and Prof. Arieh Tartakower, director of the World Jewish Congress’ cultural department addressed themselves to the subject today after hearing Louis A. Pincus, chairman of the World Zionist Organization Executive and COJO co-chairman, exhort the organization yesterday to take positive action to improve the quality of Jewish education abroad.
Minkoff said, “Of course we are in favor of COJO tackling this urgent problem vigorously and efficiently. But I have to state on behalf of my committee that Jewish education deserves the widest interpretation. We will not agree to a policy that stamps Jewish education with the stamp of one definite trend, whatever it is.”
Prof. Tartakower, who is chairman of the World Hebrew Union (Brit Ivrit Olamit), stressed that knowledge of the Hebrew language was the primary instrument in any Jewish educational program. “No Jewish education will be effective unless it is based on Hebrew and aims to make the Jewish child bilingual,” he said. “You cannot hand down Jewish values and assure Jewish continuity and secure an identity with Israel without a knowledge of Hebrew,” Prof. Tartakower said.
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