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PAGE 4 THE SOUTHERN ISRAELITE February 18, 1983
The Southern Israelite
Th» Hvwspop«f For Southern Jewry
'Since 1925
Quarantine
Vida Goldgar
Editor and Pubfcsher
Bambi Jo Eaton
Feature Editor
Luna Levy
Assistant Editor
Louis O. Hertz
Business Manager
Leonard Goldstein Eschol A. Harrell
Advertising Director Production Manager
Published every Friday by The Southern Israelite, Inc.
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American Jewish Press Assn . Georgu Press Assn , National Newspaper Assn
Pray...but not in class
Ei-li, ei-li shelo yigamer I'olam;
Ha-chol v’ha-yam,
Rtsh-rush shel hamayim;
B'rak ha'-shamayim,
Teftllat ha-adam.
—Aval lo ba-kitah! (with apologies to the poet)
Lord my God, I pray that these things never end;
The sand and the sea,
The rush of the waters;
The crash of the heavens,
The prayer of man,
— But not in the classroom
The public schoolroom is not a sanctuary. Nor is the drone of a
P A announcement a cantor. Davening, praying and meditating
are better left to (though not restricted to) the realms of
synagogue, church, mosque and similar sacred spaces.
With all the copying and acculturation that takes place today,
young and older alike need to retain some individual, non-
homogenized, special religious moments to be spent in thought
and contemplation. The imposition on the already busy schedule
of the public schools of any type of prefabricated,
institutionalized devotion will diminish, trivialize and desecrate
what should be a holy experience.
Even the tacit expectation that all students have a spontaneous
and simultaneous need to pray with their variety of peers is sheer
folly.
Enforcing prayer, or establishing it as voluntary, in our multi
ethnic public schools will make of prayer either another
announcement after the ballgame scores and before the senior
dance ticket information, or another “dead-time” spent sitting
uncomfortably in the classroom.
Sytcere prayer and meditation certainly deserve a more
elevated place in the daily lives of our school children (and
ourselves). The hollow echoing of words down the sterile
corridors of our public institutions is neither a valuable suggestion
nor a workable American possibility.
“Lord, my God, I pray”...but not in the public school
classroom.
Rabbi Robert L Kravitz
Temple Beth David
by Don McEvoy
There is quite a noisy
controversy raging in one major
Midwestern city about a play
which is appearing there. I'm not
going to call it by name, and you’ll
understand why if you continue
reading.
This particular drama had a
relatively short run in an off-
Broadway theater last season. It
received some praise from the
critics but never caught on with the
ticket-buying public.
The text and tone of this play is
definitely hostile to one pernicious
stereotype of Catholic education,
and many people, Catholic and
non-Catholic alike, feel it is a
destructive piece of anti-Catholic
propaganda.
So, the question is: What do you
do about it? Do you mount a
righteous protest in the public
arena? Do you demand that the
producer and the theater owner
cancel the show?
Nearly four decades ago. Dr. S.
Andhil Fineberg, then with the
American Jewish Committee (later
associated with the National
Conference of Christians and
Jews) faced a similar situation. He
chronicled the incident in his book
“Punishment Without Crime:
What You Can Do About
Prejudice (1949).”
When a friend asked him to join
a public protest against an anti-
Christian play, Fineberg refused.
His fnend was shocked.
“I’m not talking about my own
personal reaefions," Fineberg
responded. “I am thinking about
the strategy of handling this
problem. From all 1 have heard
about this play it consists of long
speeches ..much of it monotonous
and boring .”
“Then you don’t object to a bad
play unless it is interesting and
appeals to audiences?” the other
man asked.
“That is not the point. Unless
this play has much more popular
support than I’m told it has, the
producer cannot afford to keep it
going. A play that is financially
unsuccessful wilf soon close. Let’s
give this one a chance to commit
suicide."
Then he added: “One of the best
assets that producer has right now
is that the play was banned in
Boston. If it had not been
prohibited there it probably would
have died there. ‘Banned in
Boston' is a number one selling
card for books and plays that no
one would otherwise notice. It’s
the only free advertising that
guarantees national coverage
without a penny’s cost to the
publisher or producer.”
I think my friends in the
Midwest have given a lot of free
publicity to a bad play. Maybe we
ought to reconsider Fineberg’s
quarantine theory.
(Don McEvoy is senior vice
president of the National
Conference of Christians and
Jews.)
Getting out
by Stanley M. Lefco
Pan out
The statistics tell the story. In
1979, 51,320 Russian Jews were
allowed to emigrate. The following
year the figure dropped to 21,471.
By the end of 1981, only 9,447 were
allowed to emigrate. By the end of
1982, the number was 2,600.
What is the process to leave the
Soviet Union? Unquestionably, it
is not easy. Fighting through the
bureaucratic maze could take
years and end in failure. The
details tell a nightmarish
experience of what it takes to get
out. The International Council of
B'nai B'rith has puhlished a
pamphlet entitled, “How To
Emigrate To Israel From The
USSR." It was written for Soviet
Jews who seek to emigrate by a
“Jewish activist in the Soviet
Union who must remain
anonymous."
He (or possibly she) begins by
emphasizing that the “decision you
have taken is the most serious one
in your whole life.” One mistake is
all it takes. It may be impossible to
correct or, at least, very costly.
He emphasizes that “emigration
is an extremely undesirable
phenomenon from the Soviet
authorities' point of view." The act
is regarded as anti-social,
unpatriotic and hostile. It may also
be considered “treason."
wasted. If you wish to make
yourself undesirable, write letters
abroad, meet with tourists,
diplomats, newspaper correspond
ents, use the telephone. A low
profile apparently plays into the
Perspective
Emigration is additionally
viewed as a political act. Soviet
officials realize that offering
assistance to a prospective
emigrant can lead to the loss of
their positions. In other words,
there is nothing to gain and
everything to lose by offering
uncalled-for aid.
Our activist notes that “there is
no legislation on emigration in the
USSR.” Secret directives and
instructions control the process.
The key appears to be to bring the
matter into the open. For example,
if you are accused of committing
some anti-social act, the response
is to protest. Legal action is
recommended as well as writing
complaints, appeals and letters to
officials at all levels. He claims that
your “reputation as a ‘writer’ will
stand you in good stead."
It is publicity that will convince
the authorities that you are one
upon whom “cheap tricks" will be
hands of the officials. Passivity is
out.
When you make the decision to
emigrate, this will result in a
“radical change in the lives of all
the members of your family .” It is
the better course to get your total
family to support your decision
and also emigrate. The Soviet
authorities, in the interest o(
avoiding future contacts, are “more
favorably disposed toward people
who apply to emigrate with their
whole families."
Problems arise, along every step
of the way. If you or a relative held
or hold a job giving you access to
secret information, you must leave
that job without delay. He
cautions that “even the remotest
involvement with secret
information will be serious
grounds for refusing you an exit
permit, and the cause of many
years of torment.”
Word of advice
During the past several weeks, inquines have reached us
concerning the solicitation of advertising by publications whose
salespeople make references in the presentations to advertisements
running in The Southern Israelite. A general word of advice is in
order: If you are unfamiliar with any publication that wants your
business, be it advertising or a subscription, contact either us or the
Better Business Bureau before acting upon the offer. Neither of us
can tell you to advertise or subscribe, but we can tell you what we
know about the publication or, if we are unaware of the
publication, refer you to someone who might know.
As with all transactions, the more informed you arc about the
other party, the safer your position.