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Jewish Education promotes the continuity of our People Today, we need Education promoters
Dear Mr. Klaff,
I am writing to you on behalf of Escuela Integral Hebreo Uruguaya. Our school has been part of the Uruguayan teaching community for more than 50 years and is the only non orthodox Jewish pluralistic school in Uruguay teaching students from kindergarten to high school. Our mission entails supporting our students to achieve a high academic standard through an educational path which is plural, bicultural and trilingual, with deep Jewish roots and a strong bond with Eretz Israel. “(…) Jewish education does not only hinder assimilation but also the way in which one is a Jew and lives that identity.” (1) We are one nation, and even though we live in Uruguay, we strive to enhance our Jewish identity and Zionism:
·
Students in 4th Secondary school (10th grade)
travel to Israel at the end of
their academic year (sponsored plan) With 1,000 students, Escuela Integral is the largest Jewish institution in Uruguay. However, the number of prospective students is expected to decrease. “(…) in the next decades, we shall witness a significant process of reduction in the population, which shall mean a reduction in 20% of the population in our community by the year 2035.”(2) On the other hand, an estimated 600 young people under 20, which corresponds to 30% of Uruguayan Jewish Youth, are not part of the Jewish educational net. Unable to stand on its own, the other pluralistic Jewish school in Montevideo had to merge with ours in 2008. “We knew that Ariel School was financially unstable. Were they to close down, what would happen with the kids? Some of them would choose to go to Integral School, some others would join Yavne School and still others would favour other non-Jewish insititutions. Luckily, the sense of community prevailed.” (3) Our income has been reduced in 22% among other reasons due to the scholarships awarded to families in need of financial assistance. The main supporters of our Scholarship Programme are the families of our school themselves. Although we have also received some other type of external contribution (from Jewish organizations, banks, non-profit organizations) the needs are not yet covered. Due to the high impact of a recent increase in costs to our institutional budget, added to the difficulty of some of our families to afford the cost of the fees, we find ourselves in the need to seek more external resources. We truly believe your support would help Jewish children that otherwise would assimilate and lose their Jewish identity. To keep the flame of Jewish education in each and every Jewish child in our small community alive, we kindly request support for scholarships.(4) All Jewish people are responsible for one another. We thank you in advance for your cooperation and look forward to hearing from you.
Yours faithfully,
(1)
Porzecanski,
R. El Uruguay Judío. Demografía e identidad, Ed.
Trilce 2006 Cáp. III Pág. 127 -
Demography and Identity
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