The Charlotte Jewish News - September, 1995 - Page 5
Bnai Btrm>Xt)MEN
UNITING JEWISH WOMEN
Jewish Women
International
Is New Name for
B’nai B’rith Women
Mom, I Want To Keep
Kosher: When Your
Child Wants To
Become More
Observant Than You
WOMEN’S AMERICAN
an
Carol Linch, a resident of High
land Park, Illinois, has been named
chair of the 33rd National Biennial
Convention of Women 5 American
CRT. Co-chairing the convention,
which will bring 1000 delegates to
the Hyatt Regency Chicago from
October 26-29, 1995, are Marcia
Friedman of Columbus, Ohio, and
Judy Menikoff of Houston, Texas.
Carol Linch
The 33rd Biennial National
Convention will focus upon the
adoption of a long-range strategic
plan for Women’s American ORT,
designed to guide the organization
into the 21st century, the inaugura
tion of a streamlined governance
stnictuit:, and the election of new
national officers. Highlights will
include an address by A.M.
Rosenthal, former executive editor
and now colunlnist of The New
York Times: presentations by Dr.
Ellen Isler, director general of the
World ORT Union, and Israel
Goralnik, director general of ORT
Israel; sessions with ORT students
from Israel, the United States and
Latin America; and many network
ing, leadership development, and
educational opportunities for the
delegates who will be attending
from throughout the country.
Women’s American ORT, an
organization of membership chap
ters across the United States, sup
ports vocational and technical
training for Jews around the world,
particularly in the United States,
Israel, South America, France, In
dia, Morocco, and now throughout
the former Soviet Union. It is the
largest affiliate organization of the
World ORT Union and a major
source of financial support to its
central budget.
More than 252,000 students
presently are enrolled in ORT’s 800
schools and projects which include
comprehensive and vocational high
schools, colleges, apprenticeship
programs and teacher-training in
stitutes. The ORT program encom
passes some 60 countries and is the
largest non-govemmental network
of vocational education and tech
nical training centers in the world.
In addition to its central mis
sion, Women’s American ORT
works actively in the United States
to improve public education, to pro
mote literacy, to combat anti-
Semitism and to support women’s
rights.
For further information, please
contact your local Women’s Ameri
can ORT office.
It’s Official! Jewish Women In
ternational is the new name for
B’nai B’rith Women. The organi
zation rang in its 98th year in Au
gust with a new name and a strong
vision.
“The approach of our hun
dredth anniversary is an ideal
benchmark for innovations,” said
Jewish Women International presi
dent Susan Bruck of Charlotte.
“And with the rapid changes tak
ing place in the Jewish community
and our society at large, it’s impor
tant for organizations to recognize
emerging trends and adjust their
focus to meet those trends,” said
Bruck.
With these changes, Jewish
Women International is staking out
its position as an organization com
mitted to meeting the needs of con
temporary Jewish women. “During
my travels to Prague, Israel and
Russia in the last year, I realized
that women the world over are con
cerned with the^same types of is
sues,” said Bruck. She cited Jewish
continuity, domestic violence and
personal and professional growth as
issues of universal concern to Jew
ish women. Jewish Women Inter
national will address those concerns
by continuing its innovative, mem
ber-driven programs which em
power communities to make
positive changes. “When commu
nities all across the country face is
sues simultaneously, large-scale
changes result,” said Bruck. “We
started programs ten years ago to
address the prevalence of domestic
violence in Jewish homes. At that
time, it wasn’t widely recognized
as a Jewish issue. Today, many
major Jewish organizations have
joined us and are now taking a stand
against domestic abuse and
women’s groups in Israel and Eu
rope are tangling with the issue.
Jewish continuity is another is
sue that reverberates around the
globe. Citizens of the former So
viet Union are rediscovering their
Jewish heritage while women in the
U.S. seek to instill a love of Jewish
traditions in their children. “There
Susan Bruck
was a time when communities were
more intact. Everywhere Jewish
children looked they saw parents,
teachers and neighbors living and
practicing Jewish values,” said
Bruck.
“Today, we live in diverse
communities and must create a
place for Jewish women to share
their experiences and traditions,
and learn from one another how to
nurture a love of Judaism in their
children and grandchildren,” said
Bruck.
Two years ago, when Rina
Goldberg, 18, retumed from a Young
Judaea teen-tour to Israel, she had a
surprise for her parents; She had de
cided to become Orthodox.
Although Young Judaea, the
Hadassah-sponsored Zionist youth
movement, is not affiliated with any
religious stream, after six-weeks in
Israel, Rina was a different person.
She refused to eat in non-kosher
restaurants and she would no longer
drive to synagogue with her parents
on Sabbath. She opted to leave her
parents conservative home in El
Paso, Texas and move to Baltimore
to complete high school at an Or
thodox yeshiva.
But parents can be taken aback
as the apparent stranger disguised
as their child walks through the
door, declaring a newfound desire
to adhere strictly to Jewish law. A
parent may feel a sudden sense of
rejection as the child challenges
their values. Or, a parent might be
scared that they have lost their child
to some unfamiliar entity. And, as
parents and children negotiate reli
gious boundaries and beliefs, fights
often ensue.
Despite the initial battles, ex
perts say a child’s decision to be
come observant does not have to
impede a parent/child relationship,
even when modifications must be
made.
“First the parent must make
sure they can accept that child un
conditionally even if it means your
child is becoming a more observant
Jew,” says Dr. Michael Mantell, an
Orthodox Jew and a clinical psy
chologist who lives in San Diego.
“Once this is done, the parent will
hopefully approach the child as they
would any guest in their home. If
the chief rabbi of Israel was coming
to visit, would they serve a pork
dinner?”
The reality of the situation. Dr.
Mantel says, is that a person’s new
found religiosity should not scare a
parent. After all, he says, it is not
difficult to accommodate a religious
person. All it takes is kosher food,
dishes (which can be paper or plas
tic), a bencher, (a washing cup) and
a placemat.
But, Dr. Mantel als6 says that
while parents should acconunodate
the child, it is more important that
the child respect the parents’ beliefs.
“Why would a parent have
problems with their kids becoming
more religious?” Rachel’s father.
Bob, asked incredulously. “I’m not
going to change my lifestyle because
Rachel changed hers. But if that’s
what she wants to do than she can
do it. The reason parents educate
their kids is so they can make up
their own minds.”
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