The formation of an international Academic Advisory Committee by the College for Jewish Studies (Hochschule for Judische Studien) in Heidelberg, West Germany, has been announced by Prof. Leon Feldman, founding rector and consultant to the Central Council of Jews in Germany.
This body, consisting of scholars from the United States, Israel, England and France representing various disciplines within the field of Jewish studies, will meet together with senior representatives of the University of Heidelberg and officials from the Education and Finance Ministries May 5-7 in Heidelberg. Co-sponsor of the assembly will be the sponsor of the college the Central Council of Jews in Germany, under the chairmanship of Werner Nachmann, of Karlsruhe, Feldman said.
The college was founded in June 1979 and began instruction at the opening of the winter semester 1979-80 with an enrollment of 21 students in quarters made available by the University of Heidelberg. A group of visiting professors and part time instructors, primarily drawn from Israel, comprise the teaching faculty, supported by an administrative staff of two. The nucleus of a growing library was a donation of 3000 books of Hebraica and Judaica in German.
The goal of the college is to provide academic preparation for those who wish to study for careers as rabbis and cantor educators and to offer academic training for those who wish to become communal and social workers in the Jewish communities of the German-speaking countries of central Europe, Feldman said. The school also enables those students, inespective of religion and background, to broaden their knowledge of Judaism and the various fields of Jewish studies. The degree of Magister (MA) in Jewish studies will be awarded upon the successful completion of at least eight semesters.
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.
