The current trend in the American Jewish community to relegate the task of strengthening Jewish education to “secondary importance, ” was deplored last night by Rabbi Irving Miller, chairman of the American Zionist Council, central coordinating body of all Zionist groups in this country.
“In the light of the continued emergencies and appeals for help from abroad, too many American Jewish leaders consider Jewish education, schools of higher Jewish learning, as well as Jewish cultural expression in every form, as relatively unimportant, ” Rabbi Miller said. He emphasized that American Jewry was financially capable of supporting both local and overseas needs. He spoke at the 30th anniversary dinner of the Brandeis School of Woodmere, L. L. held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, attended by some 600 persons.
Rabbi Miller, founder of the Brandeis School and now president of its board of education, in his address pointed to the fact that the American Jewish community has lived on an emergency basis since World War I. Asserting that American Jewry is only now coming of age and that wiser and maturer counsel is prevailing, he said:
“The conviction is growing that unless American Jews develop and train a generation of youth cognizant of Jewish tradition and culture, it will not only fail in its debt to Israel and the Jewish people, but will lose its own raison d’etre here. The result may be observed in the growth of Jewish educational institutions, as well as in the increase of synagogue membership throughout the land. “
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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.
