Approximately 2,000 Jewish educators meeting at the 10th annual Conference on Alternatives in Jewish Education sent a message of solidarity to their colleagues in the Soviet Union, telling them that they are not forgotten in their struggle to keep alive Jewish life and learning.
The conference was dedicated to the Hebrew teachers of the Soviet Union, and the opening program featuring a concert by Theodore Bikel was beamed into Eastern Europe by the Voice of America.
Bikel, who sang songs in Hebrew, English, Yiddish, and Russian, addressed the Russian Jewish educators in Hebrew: “You are the hope of our nation. We are at your sides in our thoughts and hopes. Hazak ve’amatz. Be strong and of good courage.”
Stuart Kelman, chairperson of CAJE, which sponsored the conference, told the assembled participants: “When I look out and see 2,000 of us from 44 states and four Canadian provinces and nine non-North American countries, I’m overwhelmed and grateful and awed — and a bit sad. I am sad because there is at least one group of Jewish teachers who cannot come and learn and teach and celebrate. To them, the Jewish teachers of the Soviet Union, we dedicate this conference.”
Participants included teachers, administrators, rabbis, cantors, youth workers, bureau personnel, and curriculum designers from across the Jewish ideological spectrum. There were 55 non-North American attendees including educators from England, France, Sweden, Italy, the Netherlands, South Africa and Australia, and 22 representatives from Israel.
During the five-day program 360 presenters offered approximately 450 substantive sessions organized into 12 major subject areas: history and social studies, sacred texts, prayer and the synagogue, educational leadership, creative arts, Hebrew language, family and adult education, early childhood education, special education, informal education, Jewish living and Israel.
In addition to the formal sessions, participants could view exhibits of curricular materials, books, games and Judaica by 45 exhibitors; try out the latest Jewish (and general educational) software at the computer center; copy lesson plans contributed by other teachers at the copy bank; and view films and video cassettes in the media center. At the teacher center, one could examine teacher-made displays, games and curricular materials and attend sessions to learn how to make these.
A team from CBS-TV’s program, “For Our Times,” a nondenominational public affairs series presented by CBS’s Religious Programs Department in consultation with the New York Board of Rabbis, the National Council of Churches and the U.S. Catholic Forum, filmed the conference. The program will be offered to 220 CBS-TV affiliates in the fall and will be aired in the New York metropolitan area on Sunday, November 10, at 8:30 a.m.
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