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P«|« « THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE Dicimbir 16, 1*77
j The SiUheri Israelite ]
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Road to Morocco
As you read this, the editor of The Southern Israelite is on a 10-
day study minion to Morocco sponsored by the Moroccan
government. .
The stated purpose in inviting 12 editors of American Jewish
newspapers to tour the country is to dispel the idea that Morocco
is part of the anti-Israel, anti-Jewish Arab bloc.
The trip will include meetings with members of the Moroccan
Jewish community, visits to Jewish institutions and discussions of
Jewish problems in a country that has a Jewish population of Only
20,000 (down from 300,000 in 1947). ^ *
It is encouraging that the Arab government of Morocco
initiated the project as a way of clarifying its policies toward Jews.
Sadat’s recent visit to Jerusalem indicates that moderation and
peace-seeking can come from the unlikeliest places—perhaps now
from Morocco.
Jack Redaction
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What about Christmas?
There has always been deep concern about how
Jews should handle Christmas.
I have beard argument* that no notice at all should
be given to the holiday and have
aho heard the more “tiberaT view
that Jews should absorb and enjoy
the sometimes elusive spirit of
Christmas.
Ignoring the holiday is
impossible. Christmas is an
inescapable fact and Jews are
surrounded during December by
an environment suffused with alien
Christmas symbols.
The musk of Silent Night and Jingle Bells is
everywhere; streets are decorated with holly and
tinsel; newspaper advertisements urgently strest the
necessity of Christmas shopping, and shop windows
are full of reindeer and elves —all constant reminders
that December 25 is coming.
The dilemma Jews face is simply put: how caught
up should we allow ourselves to become in the “spirit
of Christ mas”? Can we enjoy the “good cheer” of the
holiday without becoming seduced by its religious
symbols 1
Most rabbis and Jewish theologians come down
hard on any participation by Jews in Christmas. The
thought is that the philosophy of Christmas cannot be
separated from the religious significance. They
maintain that Christmas commemorates the birth of
Jesus and the symbols are basically designed to
celebrate this central fact.
One rabbi recently pointed out that “Christmas
carols tell the na%sagr in musk. Customs and
practices—the Christmas tree and its decorations, the
mistletoe and the holly—may have primitive origins,
but they have acquired symbolk significance relating
to Christian theology."
Many Jewish parents have problems explaining
why their family can’t have a Christmas tree and sing
Christmas carols. One explanation often used is that
Christmas is not a Jewish holiday and Jews should not
become swept up in the inherent religious mood of
Christmas traditions.
This explanation has always bothered • me
somewhat. I think there should be a way to enjoy the
spirit of Christmas without endangering Jewishness
I proposethat we can do this by enjoying Christmas
parties, listening to Christmas carols and admiring the
Great Tree at Rich’s without feeling that we are
allowing our Jewish identity to slip.
Instead of feeling threatened, why not consider
ourselves guests in a Christian environment in whkh
Christmas is publkly externalized once a year?
There is nothing wrong, in my opinion, with
admiring a Christmas tree or appreciating the beauty
of a Christmas song as long as we intuitively remind
ourselves that we are guests that we are admiring a
culture and religion different from our own.
We can do this much as we admire the beauty of a
church in Italy, without necessarily becoming
dependent on the symbol of the crucifix.
In many ways, this could help Jews become more
relaxed and self-assured about their own religion
There is no need to view every Christian symbol as an
nfiiii) upon Judaism. We should be at ease about
Christmas and concentrate on the philosophy of
“peace on earth, goodwill toward men.”
As Jews, we can certainly go along with that.
A chance for peace?
‘Discrimination In reverse’
The miracle of peace in the Middle East could happen yet.
It has always been fashionable to shake heads and duck
tongues about the chances of peace between Israel and the Arabs.
It seemed somehow that the problems were so knotty and the
pasties so intransigent that there was really no hope of resolving
the disputes. ,_ ,» „
But now we have Sadat exerting ell his influence and po#er
among the Arab nations to get them to at least sit down and talk.
And he is not afraid to chastise them about their built-in
reluctance.
We also have the United States awakened to the significance of
the Cairo conference and now willing to place the fast-fading
Geneva talks in the background.
As the Cairo conference gets underway there is somehow a
mood of possibility in the air. For the first time in years there is
somehow a chance for peace.
by Boris Smolwr
Some 10 years ago the Carnegie
Commission on Higher Education
reported that there were
approximately 40,000 Jewish
professors in American institu
tions of higher learning. They
constituted at that time about 8.7
percent of the total number of
professors in colleges and
universities.
About five years later the
number of Jewish professors was
estimated at 50,000, the majority
of them below the age of 45. In 17
of the most prestigious universities
they made up 17 percent of the
total faculty. In some universities
there were 300 or more Jewish
professors.
The situation is much different
today. Jewish faculty population
has perhaps not decreased, but it
has also not increased during the
last years. There are several
reasons for this "freeze." One of
the major reasons is the priority
which colleges and universities
must now accord to Black
applicants—and also to women
when engaging new teaching
personnel. This priority, system,
imposed upon institutions of
higher education, is sarcastically
termed in the academic world as
“discrimination in reverse."
Among the other impediments
for young Jewish professors to find
themselves on the staff of colleges
and universities is the curtailing of
academic appointments in general
because of reductions in the faculty
budget
Young Jewish professors who
had joined small universities in
provincial towns, hoping to make
these a bridge lo appointments in
larger universities, are now only
too 'gfcuT to' hold down their
positions in the small com
munities.
The rise in the number of Jewish
professors came after World War
II. This explains why a very large
number of academicians arc under
45 years of age. Some 50 years ago
it was rare to find a Jewish
professor on the faculty of an
American school of higher
learning. This was due mainly to
the fact that the great majority of
the Jewish population consisted of
immigrants whose children began
to attend college in large numbers
only about 50 years ago. Partly it
was due also to anti-Jewish
prejudice.
City College of New York was
one of- the first institutions of
higher learning that opened its
gates to Jewish professors. But
even City College, which had many
thousands of Jewish students, was
accused 40 years ago of having
only five Jewish professors on its
faculty.
The late Lionel Trilling recalled
that he was the first Jew appointed
to the English department in
Columbia University. The
Harvard Law School did not
appoint another Jew to
professorship until 1939after Felix
Frankfurter left the faculty to
become a U.S. Supreme Court
Justice. In order to attain
professorships, Jews had to
achieve distinction in their
respective fields of national and
international character.
Today, some 25 percent of the
Jewish professors are teaching law,
while more than 22 percent are
teaching medicine. About 20
percent arc imparting the
knowledge of biochemistry—.
which is a field dose to medicine
and 14 percent are specialists in
bacteriology, also a field close to
medkine. Jewish professors who
teach psychology, economics and
social work make out between 15
and 20 percent of the total number
of Jewish academicians. The
percentage is less in physics,
mathematics and chemistry, and
much less in the “humanities."
The 50.000 Jewish professors
constitute a tremendous
intellectual force. However, the
great majority of them arc not
interested, in Jewish affairs,
although none of them denies his
Jewishness.
The Council of Jewish
Federations and Welfare Funds
has been attempting during the last
few years to stimulate interest
among them to Jewish communal
activities in the communities where
their campuses are located
However, very few are responsive
Faculty activity on behalf of
Soviet Jewry is not perceived as an
on-going project at very many
schools, although special
campaigns on behalf of individual
Soviet Jewish academkians are
not unusual.
Almost all of the smaller
campuses report an up-hill
struggle to involve Jewish faculty
in the work of Hillel Foundations
or any other type of Jewish
program. Most of the faculty are
low-profile concerning their
Jewishness on campus.
Jewish faculty members are
reported to have been increasingly
visible in the cause of Israel. In
some of the larger 'schools one
finds Jews who are members of the
American Professors for Peace in
the Middle East
The Jewish professors—
where have they all gone?