The Charlotte Jewish News -September, 1995 -Page 3
Time Bomb
continued from page 1
(NCSY), affiliated with the
Orthodox Union. The worst case
scenario, articulated by Greenberg,
is that the community will stay about
its current size.
“Maybe the academics and the
experts are tired, old, cynical and
maybe they have given up on Jew
ish life, but maybe the 16,18 or 22
year olds haven’t,” says Dr. Gary
Tobin, director of the Cohen Cen
ter of Modern Jewish Studios at
Brandeis University. “1 would ex
pect that what you hear from the
16 to 18 years olds is radically dif
ferent from what you hear the 50
and 70 year olds. Why? Because
they are the next generation of Jews
who aren’t going to die. These teens
are a cadre of leaders and their ide
alism and energy will help mold the
Jewish community of the future.”
According to Peter Geffen,
1963 USY president and current
director of the Israel experience
program of the CRB foundation,
“there is no question that we are sit
ting on the potential of an enormous
demographic crisis that could eat up
vast numbers of our people within
the next 10-15 years. But the flip
side is that I believe as a matter of
faith that our tradition has transcen
dent and practical value. Given ex
posure, it will speak to the hearts
and minds of presently disconnected
Jews as long as we spend the next
decade focusing our resources. By
enabling non-Jewish family mem
bers to participate and join in Jew
ish communal activities they will
ultimately come to identify with the
life and culture of the Jewish
people, resulting in Jewish inclu
sion and growth.”
Applying Dr. Mayer’s reason
ing to Northern Exposure’s Joel
Fleischman and Maggie O’Connell,
had they married and produced chil
dren, they could represent a net gain
to the Jewish people if, as a family
unit, they adopted Judaism. Mayor’s
idea, not accepted as realistic by
most experts, may not far off the
mark.
In a forthcoming study of real
Alaskan Jews, Bernard Reisman and
Joel Reisman of the Cohen Center,
find that despite low levels of Jew
ish organizational affiliation and
high levels of interfaith marriage,
“younger Jews observe Jewish cus
toms and attach more importance
to being Jewish than do older Jews..
This finding is especially notewor
thy since the rates of intermarriage
are also statistically associated but
in the opposite direction.”
In other words, even though
intermarriage is high, it is positively
correlated with Jewish pride and
observance. Another surprising
finding of the study is that among
Alaskan Jews, there is a high fre
quency “with which the non-Jew-
ish spouse acquiesces to the
household being considered as Jew
ish and that children will be reared
as Jews.”
If we make these patterns the
norm in the United States within the
next 50 years, then we will defy the
prophecies of the demographers and
affirm the visions of the youth. But
it’s a long shot.
Yosefl. Abramowitz, a journalist,
lecturer and consultant, is the editor
of the forthcoming Jewish Family &
Life!, a Jewish parenting and lifestyles
magazine. He can be reached at
JFamilyL9aol.com
Next Month: Who
will be giving to
what?
Commissioner’s
Comment
By Lloyd Scher
Shortly after the 1992 county
elections. The Charlotte Observer
declared the new Board of County
Commissioners as one of the best
and most diverse Boards in recent
history. The article described the
Board’s make-up as 3 women
(Patsy Kinsey, Ann Schrader, and
Edna Chirco) an attorney (Parks
Helms), a retired executive (Doug
Booth), a black (Bob Walton) and
a Jew (me).
I would have expected the Ob
server to describe me by my gen
der, race, or business. Instead, the
article used my religion as its pri
mary characterization. Even though
I had spent many years on the
Temple Israel Board of Trustees,
had actively worked for the Federa
tion and the JCC, I had considered
myself foremost a neighborhood
kader and a businessman; why did
the editors choose a religious des
ignation?
The article hit me hard! What
had been a proud moment for my
family, the Jewish community, and
me, was transformed into a time of
concern and anxiety. I felt as though
the Observer had printed a yellow
star for me to wear, I was no differ
ent than other members of the Com
mission and felt that religion was not
a defining issue.
I then realized that my election
had a'greater dimension than I had
imagined. I had also assumed a re-
nsTT
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sponsibility to the Jewish commu
nity and to myself This was a role
that was really larger than serving
as a County (Commissioner. I now
had to prove that religion, specifi
cally, Judaism, was not a factor for
becoming an elected official. Not
only did I have to prove my capa
bilities to my District constituency,
but I also had to demonstrate them
to the entire Mecklenburg commu
nity. At meetings I had to be better
prepared and ask the right ques
tions. I felt that I had to work
harder. I now had to prove my com
petence because of my religion.
The Observer o^xMtd. my eyes-
yes, I was a Jew, and I had the Jew
ish community watching me,
supporting me, and helping me. As
a Jew and as an elected official, I
was a representative of both my dis
trict and the Jewish community. I
felt that my success or failure would
be reflective on the entire Jewish
community. This has been the most
burdensome task which my elected
position has presented me.
I have enjoyed serving my Dis
trict and Mecklenburg County as a
neighborhood leader, a business
man and a Jew. It has been excit
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elected position, and as a Jew. I feel
that my obligation is not only for
my district and Mecklenburg
County, but also to the Jewish com
munity as well.
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