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April 15, 2011
Reevaluating identity, community
The first North American Mini Nahum Goldmann Fellowship is a success.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
Knowledge and networking were the focus of the Mini Nahum Goldmann Fellowship that brought more than 40 young Jewish community leaders, including myself, to Ottawa last month from across Canada and the United States.
Sponsored by the New York-based Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, which covers the cost of each participant’s stay, the Ottawa gathering was the first North American program that the foundation has held. It has organized more than 20 full-length (week-plus) fellowships since 1987 – in Europe, the former Soviet Union, South America, Southeast Asia, Australia, South Africa and Israel – and mini-fellowships (three days) in Iran, Australia and South Africa.
Dr. Nahum Goldmann (1894-1982) was a prominent Jewish leader: he was one of the founders of the World Jewish Congress, for which he also served as president, was president of the World Zionist Organization and was involved in the reparations agreement with Germany. He established the memorial foundation in 1965 with reparation funds and its initial mandate was “the reconstruction of Jewish cultural life around the world after the Shoah.” Since then, its vision has changed somewhat, and is now “the development of the social capital of the Jewish people, its communal, cultural and professional leadership, and the fostering of Jewish connectedness globally, including the propagation of the Hebrew language.”
The fellowships are an important part of this goal, providing “an intensive experience in Jewish living, learning and leadership for young men and women from around the world between the ages of 25-40 who show serious interest in Jewish culture and demonstrate a potential for individual growth and communal leadership.” In Ottawa, participants included people who worked for various Jewish federations, advocacy groups, synagogues, social service agencies, student organizations or other nonprofits, or were otherwise employed but involved in the community.
The theme for the March 27-29 conference was “Redefining and reconfiguring our normative connections.” The program consisted of lectures that provided analysis of the theme as it related to contemporary Jewish society in North America, Judaism and Israel, and each lecture was followed by peer-led discussion groups. The faculty was York University Prof. Irving Abella, most known for co-writing with Prof. Harold Troper None is Too Many: Canada and the Jews of Europe 1933-1948; Jewish Theological Seminary Prof. Jack Wertheimer, who specializes in modern Jewish history, with a focus on trends in the religious, educational and organizational sectors of American Jewish life since the Second World War; and Prof. Rabbi Saul Berman of Stern College for Women of Yeshivah University, Columbia University School of Law and the Tikvah Centre for Law and Jewish Civilization at New York University School of Law.
Abella and Wertheimer looked at the evolution of the Canadian and American Jewish communities, respectively, while Berman presented some of the fundamental aspects of Judaism and how they connected, or contrasted, with elements of North American culture. Each discussion group took the lectures as a starting point for an open dialogue about such issues as what it means to be Jewish and live Jewishly, in what ways Jewish norms and covenantal values are compatible and/or incompatible with the values of society at large, how Jewish institutions should be organized, the challenges of getting youth involved in community life, the nature of the Israel-Diaspora relationship and the prospects for Jewish continuity.
Fellows were welcomed to the conference by Anya Manning, an alumna of the 2010 fellowship in Croatia, who coordinated the Ottawa meeting. Dr. Jerry Hochbaum, executive vice-president of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture, and Austin Beutel, who came in from Toronto for the event, also spoke at the orientation. Beutel has made a career in the financial services area, but also has dedicated himself to not-for-profit ventures and been honored for his commitment and service to Jewish causes and the community.
“Judging by the formal evaluation of the fellows, the discussion at the last session by the fellows, and the mail and telephone calls we received after our meeting in Ottawa, we believe that the first North American Mini Nahum Goldmann Fellowship was very successful,” Hochbaum told the Independent in an e-mail interview. “From the foundation’s perspective, what was most impressive is that we were able to bring together a most diverse group of young men and women from Canada and the United States from different religious, ideological, professional and cultural backgrounds and discuss and debate some of the vital issues confronting North American Jewry with passion, but also civility and respect. That is certainly no small achievement in Jewish life today.
“A second element of success was the bonding and networking of the fellows in Ottawa. Based on our experience, it will certainly continue to function in the future.
“The third component of our success was less visible but I believe evident at the fellowship,” he concluded. “Being exposed to the excellent lectures by Profs. Irving Arbella, Jack Wertheimer and Saul Berman and the intense discussion with their peers, we believe triggered an internal dynamic with the fellows which will continue after their return home to redefine themselves as Jews and, hopefully, potential in their communities.”
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