Page 2-THE NEWS-May. 1984
THE CHARLOTTE JEWISH NEWS
Published monthly by:
Charlotte Jewish Federation
Foundation of Charlotte Jewish Community
Marvin Bienstock. Director
Jewish Community Center
Martin Scbneer, Director
Charlotte Hebrew Academy
Eleanor Weinglass, Director
Editors Rita Mend & Ann Langman
Advertising Blanche Yarus
Copy deadline the 10th of each month
P.O. Box 220188. Charlotte. N.C: 28222
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From The Desk of Marty Schneer
—JCC Executive Director
As I am sure many of you
are aware, the final architec
tural plans for our new
facilities have recently been
submitted to contractors for
bid. The involvement of
various community groups in
refining the plans has con
tinued throughout the entire
process. From the JCC’s
perspective I think most
would agree that the vast ma
jority of our “wish list" items
will be incorporated if the
numbers come out right.
It is difficult to envision the
magnitude and scope of the
new “J” unless you have been
intimately involved in the
planning process and only
recently have some of us
begun to fully appreciate the
aesthetic beauty and
sophistication of the whole
Editorial
Judaism Is Not Dead
In Our Colleges
Having just recently spent a weekend in Chapel Hill I
was extremely happy to hear of the renewed activity at
their Hillel House. More of the Jewish students are avail
ing themselves of the various programs which Hillel of
fers, the comaraderie of other Jewish students, and, of
course, the twice-a-month Deli. Whether it’s the classes,
the dances, the food, the services, or maybe a blend of all
them, Judaism is coming alive on campus.
Through the interest of the Charlotte Chapter of B’nai
B'rith Women, a kitchen shower was held to furnish ad
ditional items badly needed in the Hillel kitchen. The house
has been recently refurbished to some degree, even to the
inclusion of a new refrigerator. During the Jewish holidays
it is the students’ home away from home. Services are held
there during the high holy days and many who can not
get home for Passover avail themselves of the seder there.
This year, the ZBT fraternity made their own seder, with
the preparation of the meal be^g done by certain brothers
and ‘little sisters.’ Originally 8 people signed up for it, but
seder night it was close to 25. Each member participated
in the seder as if it were a rededication to Judaism. Ex
periences like this will continue to keep our young people
aware of their heritage. No, Judaism is not dead in col
lege... at least not in Chapel Hill.
THE
SAME
^ PIFFEREhrr
CAN
Ira Gissen, Director NC/VA Region Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith
On Tlie Issues 4
The **Moment of Silence** Is A Trojan Horse
Now that the Constitution
has survived the school prayer
assault, we can breathe a
grateful sigh of relief. Or can
we?
The effort to sanction either
officially sponsored organized
prayer or silent prayer failed
to win the necessary votes in
the Senate. By contrast, the
current “Moment of Silence”
issue seems inoffensive.
But the “Moment of
Silence” is a subterfuge whose
advocates seek to accomplish
by circumvention, what other
wise is Constitutionally
prohibited.
The issue now before the
Supreme Court concerns an
Alabama law which authorizes
teachers to begin the school
day with a “period of silence
not to exceed one minute in
duration...for meditation or
voluntary prayer,” and during
that time *'no other activities
shall be engaged in.” Twenty-
two other states including
Virginia have enacted similar
laws. The Alabama law was
upheld by the District Court.
Thereupon, Justice Lewis F.
Powell, acting upon a motion
for a stay of the decision and
an injunction pending appeal,
ordered a halt to state-
sponsored prayer sessions in
Alabama’s schools.
The Court of Appeals cited
the 1946 Everson decision;
“The ‘establishment of
religion’ clause of the First
Amendment means at least
this: Neither a state nor the
Federal Government can set
up a church. Neither can pass
laws which aid one religion, aid
all religions, or prefer one
religion over another.” Strik
ing down the “moment of
silence”, the Circuit Court
stated: “We do not imply that
simple meditation or silence is
barred from the public schools:
we hold that the state cannot
participate in the advance
ment of religious activities
through any guise, including
teacher-led meditation.”
The Reagan Administration
has urged the Supreme Court
to overturn that decision. Its
lawyers contend that: “Per
mitting school children to
maintain a moment of silence
in the public...evinces a
benevolent neutrality.”
To the contrary, the “mo
ment of silence” law is a Tro
jan Horse which is designed to
penetrate the wall that
separates Church and State.
That result is recognized by
another Federal District Court
ruling ' which overturned a
New Mexico law that had
authorized “comtemplation,
meditation or prayer” during
a moment of silence. That deci
sion declared: “It does not
matter whether the moment of
silence would be regarded as a
proper devotional exercise by
a cleric or another person
knowledgeable in such affairs.
The ill lies in the public’s
perception of the moment of
silence as a devotional exercise
in public school classrooms,
the effect of the state’s action
is the advancement of
religion.”
The effort to disguise the
true purpose of the “moment
of silence” reached its zenith
in the most recent version of
this legislation, in a law
enacted by the New Jersey
legislature which provided
that the students be permitted
to “Observe a 1 minute period
of silence to be used solely at
the discretion of the individual
student, before opening exer
cises of each school day for
quiet and private contempla
tion or introspection.”
The legislators had crafted
language that artfullv avoided
any reference to religious ac
tivity. However, it was abun
dantly clear, from the
legislative debate, that the
purpose was to circumvent the
Constitution. The Governor’s
veto was overridden.
The Anti-Defamation
League’s brief in the New
Jersey case pointedly exposed
the true purpose of the
statute: Its legislative history
clearly indicated that intent
was to reintroduce religious
activity through the schools’
back door. The ADL explain
ed: “Knowing full well that it
could not constitutionally
mandate prayer in school,
after the 1963 decision so bar
ring...the New Jersey
Legislature instead chose
‘silence’ with a wink.”
The Federal District Court
in Newark ruled against the
New Jersey “moment of
silence” law.
The scene of the struggle
over school prayer has now
shifted from the Senate to the
Supreme Court.
project. I am confident that
the tremendous effort put
forth so far to reach this point
will merely help to provide the
impetus and motivation for
the major tasks that lie ahead.
I would like to take this oppor
tunity to reiterate the J’s caU
for volunteers from the
membership to sit on one of
the many new adhoc commit
tees that will be established to
set policies, procedures and
guidelines for the new center.
May will be a busy month
for the JCC as we close out our
spring programming. Follow
ing the community-wide Israel
Independence Day Celebra
tion on May 6th, the Center’s
cultural Arts Committee
cheured by Florence Jaffe has
secured an exclusive Charlotte
Symphony Concert free to
JCC members. In a similar
vein during the coming year,
we plan to continue to provide
our members with special ex
tra activities and programs.
The JCC will sponsor a Mini-
Adult Jewish Institute to
commence on May 3rd. Each
Rabbi has chosen an infor
mative and thought provoking
topic to address during this
four week series to be held on
successive Thursday nights. A
fifth guest lecturer has been
added to the program offering
a special slide presentation on
the history of Greek Jewry
during a Sunday brunch
scheduled for June 10th. In
addition another family Bike-
A-Thon is planned to take
place in May.
The above program listing
demonstrates the JCC’s com
mitment to providing ac
tivities and events for all
segments of our membership.
The continued success of our
programs of course depends
on your participation. Our
staff is always willing to hear
your ideas and suggestions for
new programs so don’t hesi
tate to call on us. I look for
ward to greeting you at a JCC
program sometime during the
month of May.
We Mcouragm our readers'
viewpolntm. Lmttera should be
submitted typewritten and
doubla-tpmced and signed.
We remerve the right to edit.
JEWISH CALENDAR
Candlelighting
May 4 - 7:54 p.m.
May 11 - 8:00 p.m.
May 18 - 8:05 p.m.
May 25 - 8:10 p.m.
June 1-8:15 p.m.
June 5-8:17 p.m. (Erev Shavuos)
June 6-8:17 p.m. (Shavuos)
Holidays
Lag B’Omer - May 20
Shavuos - June 6-7