Sen. Carl Levin speech introduces Jewish Studies Program at Eastern Michigan University
Sen. Carl Levin speaks at Eastern Michigan University on Thursday.
Photo courtesy of EMU
Diversity. That's the benefit of studying Jewish culture and history, U.S. Sen. Carl Levin said Thursday at Eastern Michigan University.
"The great strength of this country, as strong as we all militarily, is that strength of diversity," said Levin, D-Michigan. "Any course which teaches folks about other people ... is helpful to strengthening our diversity."
Levin spoke at EMU to introduce the school's new Jewish Studies Program, which includes a Jewish studies minor. The new minor is one of three courses of study at EMU that focuses on select people groups. The university also has African-American studies and women's studies programs.
Levin, a Detroit native, reflected on Jewish community and social justice before a crowd of about 150, encouraging EMU to embrace those qualities in its new program.
The program offers courses in Jewish art, history, literature, politics and language, as well as a lecture series and a travel-study course focused on the Holocaust.
EMU Hillel Executive Director Clara Silver said a Jewish studies program like the one Eastern established is uncommon among similarly positioned public universities.
Silver said universities are slowly moving toward programs that study Jewish and other ethnic cultures in an effort to embrace diversity and offer their students a wide range of experiences.
"There are many students who come here who've never even left the State of Michigan," she said.
Washtenaw Community College student Beni Henig, who has taken courses at EMU, said that's one of the benefits of the university's new offering.
“You go day to day in your life not really interacting with anyone new at all or really knowing their history and end up being less diverse,” he said. “The deal with the Jewish Studies Program is it doesn’t matter if you're Jewish or not. You have exposure.”
Program director Marty Shichtman estimates that about one quarter of the roughly 100 people in a Holocaust class he teaches are Jewish.
"Students are interested," he offered. "They're really interested in Judea culture."
Levin, during his speech, noted that a strong "sense of community" has "marked" the Jewish culture. It's an understanding of that community, Levin said, that can infuse interest in social justice and create a culture of giving.
"You’ll find a great activity —way out of proportion to our numbers— of Jews in the civil rights movement," Levin said, calling it "no coincidence."
"That comes down through the ages as part of our Jewish experience," he said, adding that the activism is a "product of centuries of discrimination and bigotry" that Jews faced historically.
Shichtman said the new minor equips students with a knowledge base helpful for careers in non-profits, anti-poverty organizations and think tanks and education. Thus far, Shichtman said students have shown a high level of interest Jewish studies courses. More than 100 students are enrolled in his Holocaust course.
"It's hard to predict how much traction the minor will have. What I do know is that the courses will have traction," he said. Whatever the case, Shichtman already has one student on board. "I just spoke to one student here who said 'I’m your first."
Kellie Woodhouse covers higher education for AnnArbor.com. Reach her at kelliewoodhouse@annarbor.com or 734-623-4602 and follow her on twitter.
Comments
BhavanaJagat
Sat, Feb 25, 2012 : 6:40 p.m.
The Spirit of a Jew : Thanks to ContreMilice and Bedrog for their kind responses. Fortunately, I read the deleted comment and I appreciate it very much. There is always a context in which we exist in this physical world and experience the historical events of our life times. The Tibetan National Flag that represents me and my Identity in my comments stands for the military service that I have rendered to the people of the United States of America. That Gravatar has a meaning and purpose of its own. While rendering military service to the United States, I had served in a Unit and my Adjutant was Captain Kottayam Chacko Kurien, a Kochi Jew. I learned about Jews of India while we worked together in 1971-72 during the Liberation War of Bangladesh. The military plan for this successful Operation was drawn by a Baghdadi Jew, Lieutenant General Jack Frederick Ralph Jacob while he served as the Chief of Staff at Indian Army's Eastern Command. My affinity for Jews is very direct and has come into existence because of the sense of comradeship developed during my participation in War for Liberation of Bangladesh. <a href="http://bhavanajagat.com/2009/02/10/the-spirit-of-a-jew-revisiting-the-birth-of-bangladesh/" rel='nofollow'>http://bhavanajagat.com/2009/02/10/the-spirit-of-a-jew-revisiting-the-birth-of-bangladesh/</a>
BhavanaJagat
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 6:19 p.m.
A STUDY TO PROMOTE TOLERANCE : I welcome this new program and congratulate EMU for including Jewish Studies in its academic curriculum. I will be happy if the program includes a study of Indian Jewish community. The Kochi Jews were the first to arrive in India and many trace their origins to the first period of Babylonian Exiles. Many have arrived from Iraq and are known as Baghdadi Jews. We have Jews living in the remote Northeast parts of India and they have been recognized as Jews and they had continuously lived for centuries without interacting with other Jews present in India. Indian Jews had lived in relative peace and harmony and have escaped the persecution that is part of common Jewish experience in different parts of the world. The Kochi Jews had very hard times when the Europeans had arrived in India followed by Christian missionaries from Portugal. We need to read about Jews, know their history and culture to learn the qualities of tolerance. Jews have a right to choose their way of life and seek the arrival of Messiah on their own terms. In the sands of Israel, we have drawn the lines to defend their Identity and Existence as a National entity. Long Live Israel and Long Live Human Freedom.
bedrog
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 10:30 p.m.
hmmm! my deleted post perhaps expanded the topic of indo-judaic relations a bit, but it was totally accurate as to facts...I was on hand for alot of the events . anyway i don't want it thought that Bhavana jagat's excellent post was being opposed.
ContreMilice
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 6:54 p.m.
Thanks for your comments, BhavanaJagat. You wrote, "Indian Jews had lived in relative peace and harmony and have escaped the persecution that is part of common Jewish experience in different parts of the world." This is true, for the most part, and a rare exception. Of course, Jews as well as Hindus and Christians have been targeted by Moslem extremists as, e.g., in the murderous Bombay (Mumbai) terrorist attacks of December 2008. And, this was not the only such instance. BTW, I love your avatar. The Tibetan flag is one of the most beautiful national banners.
ContreMilice
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 5:56 p.m.
As one has to un-hide replies, I hope it's OK for me to reproduce one of mine above with some slight elaboration, lest it be missed otherwise: Loveaduck, thank you for your comments, BTW, Judaism is sometimes distinct from Jewishness. It has long been debated, what is it to be Jewish? Is it a religion--certainly Judaism is--or is it an ethnic group--and there are elements of ethnicity among Jews--or is it a nationality (like the old Soviet Union and other countries treated it, even creating a pseudo "Jewish Autonomous Region" in Birobidzhan in the 1930s, which still exists today in Russsia's Far East, although it never had a Jewish majority, and today that population has dwindled down to a tiny minority). As there are elements of truth in all three, it is too simple to merely state that this program is only about religion. It also deals with history, culture, language, literature, customs, and much more. And as there are Jewish atheists, agnostics, Buddhists, Hindus, Christians, and even Moslems in so far as non-practicing Jews and even converts to other religions from Judaism are often still considered Jews even if they have--so to speak--left the fold, Jewish studies is certainly more than a religious studies program. There is also a strong program in Arab-American studies at the U of M-Dearborn. It's good there are such courses. And, you, Bedrog, and Demistify have it right: not only are there unfortunately Holocaust deniers sprinkled throughout the world, a local group that has been picketing a Jewish house of worship in Ann Arbor for over eight years is led by a self-styled "human rights" advocate who is proudly lauded and photographed with a number of international Holocaust deniers. Please do take a look at the website that Bedrog links up to in his post as well as some of the links to see the form of Jew-hatred that is present in our own open and tolerant community and on display every Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, and other major Jewish holid
annb
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 4:50 p.m.
I would like to correct a statement that said Hitler was a Catholic to the end. Not true. He was born a Catholic, but renounced his faith early in his "career." During the war, Catholics that opposed him were thrown into concentration camps and labor camps (like Pope John Paul II and numerous Catholic ( and of course Jewish )Poles. Yes, there were Catholics who betrayed their faith by serving the Nazis or helping Nazis escape. How they could morally do that, I don't know. It makes me angry even to this day. The Catholic Church has tried to deal with its horrible past and what the Church did over the years. Now, we emphasize our Jewish roots. Please don't lump all Catholics in with such psychopaths and those people who clearly are anti-Semitic. It's up to all of us to continually fight against anti-Semitic people and their views about Judaism. In this day and age, it is absolutely hard to believe there are people out there with such beliefs.
demistify
Sat, Feb 25, 2012 : 8:29 p.m.
I laud your moral statements. And I respect that they are grounded in your Catholic piety. I believe, though, that you underestimate different people's contradictory interpretations of religious teachings, including the justification of what you and I consider evil (That applies not just to Catholicism, but to all religions). As you say, many Catholics fought Hitler and found the inspiration in their faith. But many Fascists allied with Hitler represented themselves as militant Catholics (Mussolini, Franco, Petain, etc.). Clergy of all ranks were active on both sides. The wartime pope has been criticized for his passivity with respect to the Holocaust. Nazis came from various religions (including their garbled version of Scandinavian mythology). Most were Christians of one sort or another, others were Muslim. A smaller number were even self-hating opportunistic Jews, internalizing the antisemitism they were exposed to. The last category still exists: One American Jew is a spokesman for al Qaeda. A few others harass a Jewish house of worship in Ann Arbor during its services .
bedrog
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 5:47 p.m.
your sentiments are appreciated...and about 1/3 my beloved relatives are catholics... .But papal support for such things as antisemite mel gibson's "passion" movie ( which i saw on an opening night in a predominantly gentile region of the country--and the crowd was scary!!) and other thoughtless, but historically resonant gestures /acts from church authorities, make a full mutual embrace a bit difficult. ( and the rigidity of a santorum with his " all who disagree are under satan's sway"....a pronouncement delivered at Ave Maria Univ... sure doesn't help the interfaith bridges.)
rulieg
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 2:17 p.m.
apparently there were some anti-Semitic comments posted here. I have to ask: really, people? a university offers a course of study and you find something wrong with that, because it's about Jews? in another online article, U-M recently announced they were going to have an Arab Studies minor. funny...I don't remember one single comment from the local "Zionist oppressors" complaining about that. to the contrary, I'd bet that most Jews are in favor of just about ANY sort of college class. defenders of the Religion of Peace (tm)? not so much. funny how that goes...
Dante Marcos
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 1:49 p.m.
" 'You'll find a great activity—way out of proportion to our numbers—of Jews in the civil rights movement,' Levin said, calling it 'no coincidence.' " Although Levin himself isn't a part of that movement, given that he recently authored an addition to the NDAA that allows the government to apprehend and detain—indefinitely, and without trial—any American citizen, for anything it deems "belligerent" acts against the United States (including peaceful protest).
bedrog
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 3:27 p.m.
Generally people who unironically use screennames of the famous ( in your case of the zapatista leader) have a tad of hubris going on. and many "peaceful" protestors have definite links to the not so peaceful...per the site link above.. it is indeed necessary for law enforcement to at least be aware of these, so kudos to sen. levin....and the NYPD ( in a related article cited in the margins of a2.com).
mohomed
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 1:19 p.m.
I wonder if ANY Middle East country besides of course Israel would allow an OBJECTIVE view of jewish studies. I wonder perhaps if the antisemtism in the Koran and practiced in Islam would have anything to do with this or the fact that Islam's founder murdered hundreds of Jews in Medina? Even more crazy the Catholic Church isn't exactly known through the centuries as a friend of Jews even though it's most beloved Jesus as God, Mary as mother of God, and Peter is supposed founder were all Jews. Hitler was an extreme social darwinist but he was I believe... a Catholic until the end.
bedrog
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 12:24 p.m.
angry: here's a whole website about a longtime local synagogue harassing cult led by a holocaust denier ( although some of his free thinking acolytes are mere holocaust trivializers and revisionists, per many of the links cited on the site). educate yourself: <a href="http://www.hvcn.org/info/feh/" rel='nofollow'>http://www.hvcn.org/info/feh/</a>
bedrog
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 12:03 p.m.
bet i know whose comments were deleted...
Lovaduck
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 5:46 a.m.
A wonderful program and badly needed in this day of Holocaust Deniers! Also it will bring the Jewish experience closer to students who have limited experience with Judaism in their small towns. University of Toledo has an excellent Catholic Studies program (without getting in trouble with church/state issues) that does something along the same lines for Catholicism. Religion is a fine and legitimate object of study.
ContreMilice
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 5:39 p.m.
Loveaduck, thank you for your comments, BTW, Judaism is sometimes distinct from Jewishness. It has long been debated, what is it to be Jewish? Is it a religion--certainly Judaism is--or is it an ethnic group--and there are elements of ethnicity among Jews--or is it a nationality (like the old Soviet Union and other countries treated it, even creating a pseudo "Jewish Autonomous Region" in Birobidzhan in the 1930s, which still exists today in Russsia's Far East, although it never had a Jewish majority, and today that population has dwindled down to a tiny minority. As there are elements of truth in all three, it is too simple to merely state that this program is about religion. It also deals with history, culture, language, literature, customs, and much more. There is also a strong program in Arab-American studies at the U of M-Dearborn. And, you, Bedrog, and Demistify have it right: not only are there unfortunately Holocaust deniers sprinkled throughout the world, a local group that has been picketing a Jewish house of worship in Ann Arbor for over eight years is led by a self-styled "human rights" advocate who is proudly lauded and photographed with a number of international Holocaust deniers. Please do take a look at the website that Bedrog links up to in his post as well as some of the links to see the form of Jew-hatred that is present in our own open and tolerant community and on display every Saturday, the Jewish Sabbath, and other major Jewish holidays.
bedrog
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 5:32 p.m.
correction to mine above: it was pointed out to me that that Buchanan joke was jay leno's.
bedrog
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 4:41 p.m.
@ demistify : re buchanan, i think it was the late great johnny carson who said something like: "pat buchanan is not a holocaust denier. He even had a relative who died in the holcaust. He fell off a guard tower at a concentration camp".
demistify
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 4:27 p.m.
"Angry Moderate"? Sounds more like "See No Evil". The last presidential candidate of the Green Party was Cynthia McKinney, a former Congresswoman from Atlanta. She was tossed out of Congress in a Democratic primary, largely because of her raucous antisemitic outbursts. After her presidential run, she did a European grand tour during which she appeared with British Holocaust deniers (reported, with photos in the Intelligence Report of the Southern Poverty Law Center). For the local version, look up the Huron Valley Greens. Another Holocaust denier, who ran in Republican presidential primaries, is Pat Buchanan.
bedrog
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 12:31 p.m.
angry: how many do i know?? see my discrete post below for an answer , if it's not deleted as inappropriate, which it certainly is not in the context of the article and your question.
Angry Moderate
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 8:26 a.m.
How many Holocaust deniers do you know?
annarbor28
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 4:42 a.m.
And I will add that I don't always agree with Senator Levin on everything he does in Congress, but at least I would not attack him personally and especially on the basis of his religion. So is antisemitism all in good fun for you, annarbor.com?
ContreMilice
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 5:24 p.m.
AnnArbor28: to A2 Dot Com's credit, it appears that they deleted the offensive remarks as I don't see anything above your comments and Bedrog's reply. Thank you both for your sensible and sensitive statements. It's really good that such programs as these are being added to the curricula of universities. I hope Prof. Shichtman's classes increase, and this new program will be a big success.
bedrog
Fri, Feb 24, 2012 : 12:09 p.m.
In all fairness to a2.com alot of their staff is not always established enough in the area to know who's who and what's what on the local organized antisemite scene. I have personally found them to be a bit slow on the "uptake" sometimes, but educable. that said , many of the most direct ( and longtime ) targets of local antisemitism seem even more depressingly slow on the "uptake'. anyway, nice event--nice senator.