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Page 2-THE NEWS-October, 1988 Editorial Creating Jewish Memories — Old and New A Newcomer’s View of Our Jewish Community The Elections A most important date will soon be here.... November 8! At this time we will be making a deci sion for the future of our country, by casting our vote for the next president of the United States. It is one of the most crucial issues facing everyone today. At the same time we will be deciding on who will lead our beautiful state of North Carolina by voting for a governor. Other major and minor offices will also be on the ballot....all are important! Whether you’re a Democrat, Republican or Inde pendent does not matter. What does matter is that you go to the polls and exercise your rights as an American citizen. Voting for the candidate of our choice is a privilege that we can not dismiss lightly; so many countries in this world do not have this free dom. So often we hear people criticize the individuals who are in office. But did they cast their ballot on Elec tion Day? If you don’t vote, don’t complain. I’m casting my ballot on Nov. 8 are you? —Rita Mond Another Look at Child Care By Robert E. Segal (JTA) Child CEire has been cited by one keen student of American political campaigns as the sleeper issue in the race for president. It is a subject of monumental proportion, dis missed cavalierly by doubters but large on the agenda of human service agencies and social scientists. At Brandeis University, the Cohen Center For Modern Jewish Studies provides an ac count of extensive research on this vital subject by Gabriel Berger. A holder of two Bran deis master’s degrees and a former researcher for the Joint Distribution Committee, Ber ger envisions Jewish child care as a potentially potent benefit for the cause of Jewish educa tion. Berger, in speaking of chang ing realities, points out that most Jewish mothers in the United States today work out side the home. As he delves in to documents and Jewish dem ographic studies, he reminds us that in past years, Ameri can Jewish women dropped out of the labor market when they began motherhood careers. The Effluent were in position to engage live-in help, but mothers in less prosperous households, or those divorced, depended largely on Jewish family and children’s units to provide child care. That was yesterday. Today, home child care in some cities costs $260 to $340 a week. And when Jewish-sponsored child-care centers are used, the reward doubles: the children are served, and the agency becomes a fine potential conduit to Jewish education. Under such aus pices, the uaffiliated Jewish parents find it eiuiching to get involved in Jewish institu tional life, and Jewish educa tors find a rich source for outreach. What do we behold if we look out over the American landscape in search for solu tions to the nation-wide child care chjdlenges? We see vast changes in the numbers of women in the workforce. One in every five American feuni- lies is headed by a female bread-winner. Two in every four working women are mar ried to men who make under $15,000 a year. In 1976, 31 percent of the nation’s mothers were in the labor force. The estimate for 1987 was 51 percent. Near the close of the century, the figure will be 75 percent. But many of our countrymen conclude that such a trend foredooms the complete collapse of the family and all its cherished values. Sample: a gloomy writer of letters-to-the-editor condenms women who madly rush into the working place to satisfy their own need for self esteem. These women surrender the long-term reward of molding and influencing the next gen eration just for short-term gratification. Raising our chil dren is our own job, not somebody’s else. If we really thought that kids are special, we would not be packing them into day-care centers. Rebuttal: Even an arch-con- servative like Senator Orrin Hatch of Utah, in seeking sup port for his child-care bill, grants that it is better for parents to be at home, but that isn’t the reality. If the Utah politico takes that dar ing stance, we can be sure that by strenuous effort, Washing ton and state governments all over the nation will before long make adequate funding avail able for day-care centers, with qualified managers and well- trained workers rewarded with decent wages. Robert E. Segal is a former newspaper editor as well as former director of the Jewish community councils in Cincin nati and Boston. By Lorrie Klemons My husband and I visited Charlotte for the first time in December, 1986 and fell in love with the city. We were especially impressed with the Jewish community — the size, the warmth, the commitment to a Jewish identity and way of life. After many months of in vestigating and exploring various career and business opportunities in town, we finally arrived to start up a business this past spring. My husband arrived in March and proceeded to set it all in mo tion. I arrived in May with our sons, Joshua, 7, and Jordan, 5. In the four short months since my arrival, I have become even more impressed with the Yiddishkeit which I have found here within the Jewish community. And, it is a community wWch quickly reaches out to its own. It was not too soon after my arrival, that Shalom Y’all came call ing... just the first of many Jewish groups to make con tact. From then on, various organizations and committees have reached out, helping me maintain the Jewish identity and way of life which I had established in New York and which I had hoped to find in the South. I was only in town five days when I met Jody Pinion for the first time. I told her that I wanted to get involved after I had settled my family into their new environment, and she told me that that was a dangerous thing to tell the president of an organization. A week later, I received a phone call from Jody, asking me if I had joined B’nai B’rith Women yet. I told her that I had filled out the application form, and that was my ac ceptance speech to becoming recording secretary of Charlotte Chapter BBW. As a newcomer to the com munity, I also want to give credit to Jessica Kranz, ALM5FOR*m£imiFAl7A U.S. and Israel Sharing Solutions to Social Problems (JTA) — Israel and the United States share not only common social problems, but innovative methods for deal ing with them that they have individually developed. For nearly five years, the two nations have been ex changing techniques they have pioneered at home to ded with such challenges as reading disabilities, self- destructiveness in mentaUy handicapped people and caring for the frail elderly. The cooperation is the outgrowth of a Memorandum of Understanding signed in 1984 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the Israeli Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs. The project is coordinated by the Council of Jewish Federations, which seeks to get local federa tions and other Jewish groups to undertake exchange pro grams with Israel. The project sent profes sionals from the University of Haifa to Kansas City to teach their methods of dealing with mentally handicapped children who injure themselves. In turn, members of the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project, a 23-year-old program at the University of Kansas, trained teachers in poor neighborhoods of northern - Israel how to teach children who are failing to improve their reading and spelling skills. In addition to the Kansas City project, there are several other exchange programs go ing on under the Memoran dum of Understanding. The Jewish Federation Council of Greater Los Angeles is coordinating a pro gram between the cities of Los Angeles and Jerusalem deal ing with the frail elderly. In addition, the CJF offices in Israel and Washington have coordinated a wide range of visits to the United States and Israel by officials from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Labor and Social Affairs Min istry, including in one case having persoimel work in each other’s offices. Children’s Services Director and Director of the JCC Camp this past summer, for attempt ing to create a Jewish identi ty and memory for all our chil dren. One of the events held dur ing the 2nd session of camp was an Israeli archaeological dig. First session parents were solicited for donations of ar tifacts and mementos (especi ally those made in Israel) to be utilized for the event. These items were subsequently buried on a hilltop at Shalom Park, and then Camp Macabee was swept away on an im aginary archaeological dig to the land of Israel. Each camp group had the opportunity to tromp up the Masada, under the scorching sun, to dig for a buried treasure. And once found, each camper then participated in a discussion regarding the history, origination and significance of their “unburied treasure.” I was reaUy im pressed with the JCC’s at tempt to create a sense of Jewish identity and history for my children, and my kids have not stopped talking about the experience. From Shalom Y’all to Tem ple Israel Preschool to BBW to Hadassah to Sisterhood to Temple Israel Shabbat ser vices to Camp Macabee, and lastly to the JCC, I have been inundated with a proud iden tity of just whom and what I am. And I have been able to establish my family into a Jewish way of life, which I never thought existed outside of New York. For that, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart. In the spirit of Personal Giv ing, my family and I have given a gift to the Jewish com munity, which is a wooden deck that is in the children’s playground at Shalom Park. This is our way of saying thank you to all of you who so unselfishly give of yourselves to help create and maintain a Jewish identity and memory for us all. We encourage our readers’ viewpoints. Let ters should be submitted typewritten and double spaced and signed. Please include your ad dress and phone num ber. We reserve the right to edit. THE CHARLOTTE JEWISH NEWS Published monthly by: Charlotte Jewish Federation Michael L. Minkin. Director Foundation of Charlotte Jewish Community & Jewish Community Center Barry Hantman, Director Lubavitch of N.C Rabbi Yossi Groner, Director Rita Mond Advertising Blanche Yarus Copy deadline the 10th of each month P.O. Box 13369, Charlotte. N.C. 28211 Tk« appMTMM !■ TiM N«ws Mt CMMtltMt* a kaakrath — Tit.
The Charlotte Jewish News (Charlotte, N.C.)
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Oct. 1, 1988, edition 1
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