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Page 9-THE NEWS-January, 1988 Charlotte Jewish Federation More Reports from the GA: Intermarriage Prompts Fear, Concern Among Jews By Rita Mond When a Group of active Jews discusses interfaith mar riage, it is because they see it as a problem. And so it was on Friday, Nov. 20. “To some people, it’s no big deal. They’ll throw the rice and drink champagne,” said Sylvia Friedman, a New York psy chologist. “But for many Jews, intermarriage is nothing to celebrate. It means the destruction of the Jewish people.” Prior to 1960, very few Jews married outside their faith. However, as American society became more integrated, the rate of intermarriage has soared. Today an estimated 30% of American Jews marry Christians....and the other Jews fret. Paul Cowan, a Jew, and Rachel Cowan, a Unitari* an, who not only converted, but is now a rabbinical stu* dent, have written “Mixed Blessings; Marriage between Jews and Christians.” Mr. Cowan stated that “Intermar riage, if it leads to widespread assimilation, really could bleach out 5,000 years of his tory.” The Cowans, however, see potential for good in inter marriage. Paul Cowan said “The experience of intermar riage can strengthen Jewish identity.” Many of us are familieu- with the Cowans as they have been Paul Cowan in Charlotte as guest speakers and to hold workshops. They hold workshops around the country to help interfaith couples understand their ethnic differences. “When I married Paul,” Rachel Cowan said, “he had a deep feeling of himself as a Jew but he didn’t know when it was Yom Kippur. He didn’t do Jewish things. It is hard to share that kind of Jewish ness.” The tensions are resolved if a spouse converts, as did Rachel. If not, the tensions are often absorbed by the chil dren. One of the children inter viewed by the Cowans talked of “the star and the cross that are always at war in me.” It is these children, who are in limbo between two faiths, who worry the rest of us Jews. Unfortunately, the odds are that they will never be Jews. I II mm Richard Klein addresses ^oup at Shabbat dinner of the Region III UJA Conference in Memphis, TN. Thousands to Meet in Washington for UJA Young Leadership Conference Three thousand young Jew ish leaders will gather in Washington, DC to gain in sight into American-Israel re lations at the United Jewish Appeal Young Leadership Ca binet’s Sixth Annual Young Leadership Conference, March 13-15. During three full days of stimulating programming, which will include visits to their resj>ective congressmen and senators, participants will learn about many aspects of the social and political rela tions between the two coun tries, from such noted speak ers as Israel’s Foreign Mini ster Shimon Peres, Israel’s Minister of Defense Yitzhak Rabin, former Prisoner of Zion Natan Scharansky, and Sena tor Edward M. Kennedy ID- Mass.) With the added l^nus of the Conference taking place during both the year of Israel’s 40th anniverary and a U.S. presidential election year, the demand for space is great; early registration is encourag ed. For more information call Vicki. 366-5007. Is the Jewish Teen-Ager \n Endangered Specics? By Rita Mond Teen-agers said that adults should realize it’s not the 1960s anymore. There’s a lot of pressure on kids and they don’t necessarily have time to be Jewish. It is precisely in adolescence that most Jews drift away. Parents join a synagogue to give their children a Jewish identity. They send them to Hebrew school and fe te their Bar/Bat Mitzvahs. A*id after that, the family’s Jewishness withers. Though many Jewisii chil dren attend religious'school, they may only experience ethnic or gastronomic Juda ism at home. Conversation may be sprinkled with Yid dish; Saturday morning break fast may be bagels and lox; at tendance at synagogue may be only on the High Hol;y Days. “At 13 years of age, they finish their formal Jewish education with very minimal understanding of whsLt it feels like to be a Jew,” said Barry Shrage, executive president of the Boston Jewish Federation. According to Steven. M. Co hen, a Queens College pro fessor of sociology, it is only in adolescence that a child is old enough to put together the Hebrew songs and the holiday rituals and the memorized prayers in a deeper under- stemding of what it means to be Jewish. He estimates that 85% of Jewish teen agers are “unaffiliated” with any Jewish institution. There is a solution: put money into and emphasis on the teen programs known to foster identification with Judaism...classes, camps, youth groups, religious retreats and travel to Israel. Experiences such as religious retreats “reconstitute the ex perience of Jewish hfe for teens who have never experi enced it,” Shrage said. (Editor’s note: In (Charlotte we are fortunate to have the BBYO and Temple teen groups. The Fedeiation also has scholarship money avail' able to teens wishing to go to Israel during the summer.} Outreach ’88: UJA Missions to Israel You have an opportunity to reach out and touch your heri tage. Taking part in United Jewish Appeal’s Outreach ’88 Mission will provide you with an exhilarating experience in Israel. You will touch the Wall; archaeological artifacts; toma toes in the Negev; the securi ty fence along the northern border; the Holocaust mem orial; a computer in a fourth grade classroom; soldiers defending their country; Hebrew textbooks for new im migrants in an absorption cen ter; a cup of coffee in the home of an Israeli family very much like yours. And you will understand the significance of what you are touching. We call it “Outreach” be cause we want as many people as possible to go to Israel on a UJA Mission this year, par ticularly those of you who have never been on one. This is. an exciting historic time for Israel. The country is celebrating 40 years of inde pendence. There is no better time to visit. There is no bet ter way. During Outreach ’88, you will encounter an Israel that or dinary tourists do not. You will see Israel’s breathtaking beauty, awesome achieve ments and rich history. The UJA Mission will in clude many of the following features: • Home hospitality with an Israeli family. • Conversations with new immigrants at £ui absorption center, with soldiers on the Golan Heights, with farmers in a pre-1967 border kibbutz, with teenagers in a youth aliyah village. • Tours of social service facilities where Israelis are helped by programs funded by your contribution to our UJA/Federation campaign. Our mission dates are March 13-23. The cost of the Mission is $1,750 per person. This cost includes round-trip airfare from New York to Israel, hotels, all transfers, guides and most meals. Exten sion arrangements can be made. Join us now on the OUT REACH ’88 Mission to Israel. For further information on this mission and others con tact Vicki Hopkins at the Federation office, 366-5007. Feb. Ml Feb. 8-17 Feb. 28-Mar. 9 Feb. 28-Mar. 11 Mar. 13-23 Mar. 13-23 Apr. 17-27 June 21-29 June 26-July 6 July 10-20 July 17-27 July 31-Aug. 10 Oct. 9-19 Nov. 6-16 Dec. 22-Jan. 1 Dec. 25-Jan. 4 1988 UJA MISSIONS - Winter Singles Mission - Region V Outreach Mission - Region IV Outreach Mission - UJA Allocations Mission - Region III & I Outreach Mission - Mature Singles Mission - Yom Ha’atzmaut Outreach Mission - National Cash Mission - Summer Family Mission - Summer Family Mission - Summer Singles Mission - Summer Singles Mission - Golden Jubilee Major Gifts, YL, WD - Fall Study Mission - Winter Family Mission - Winter Students Mission FORTY ISRAEL ONE PEOPLE. 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The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Jan. 1, 1988, edition 1
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