Newsletter December 2011 Volume 3 Number 2
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Newsletter December 2011 Volume 3 Number 2 Ira M. Sheskin Editor, University of Miami Department of Geography and Director, Jewish Demography Project of the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies Mandell L. Berman Service Award to Irene and Eddie Kaplan T he Mandell L. Berman Service Award is given occasionally by the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry to a civic or business leader or an academic for a career of distinguished commitment to the social scientific study of Jews through service and/or financial support of such research. Named for a great philanthropist and supporter of the Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry and various other research entities, the Berman Service Award recognizes the work of leaders in many sectors of the Jewish community whose efforts have advanced the social scientific study of Jewry. This year’s award goes to Edward and Irene Kaplan of the Charles I. and Mary Kaplan Foundation in Rockville, Maryland. Eddie and Irene Kaplan, through their Foundation, provided major support for the 2000-01 National Jewish Population Survey. Eddie, with Bill Berman, co-chaired NJPS. The Foundation made a major grant to help fund the study. Their Foundation also provided almost all the funding for the 2003 Jewish Community Study of Greater Washington. Irene chaired the Demographic Study Committee for that study. Both have served as former presidents of the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington and are major donors to many Jewish causes. Eddie is a past president of the United Jewish Endowment Fund in Washington. The Kaplan Foundation also supports the Kaplan Seminar for Emerging Professionals at the Fisher-Bernstein Institute for Jewish Philanthropy & Leadership. They are also supporters of the Jewish Historical Society of Greater Washington. (Thanks to Harriet Hartman, Keren McGinity, and Ira M. Sheskin who served on the Berman Service Award Committee.) 2 The Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry Volume 3 Number 2 President’s Column C ongratulations to Lila Berwin Corwin, through their dedicated service to the Steven Cohen, and Len Saxe on their promotion of the social scientific study of (re)election to the ASSJ Board! Lila brings Jewry. Our inaugural recipients are Edward with her an interdisciplinary approach and a and Irene Kaplan of Washington, D.C., whose historical perspective on the impact that social contributions on both national and local levels science frameworks have had on the wider are well known (see preceding story). Jewish community which will be sure to be helpful in our contemporary endeavors; We are very fortunate to have Riv-Ellen Prell Steven bridges to the world of policy and the as our 2011 Sklare Award honoree. Many of wonderful resource in the Berman Jewish you know her work, her invaluable insights on Policy Archive (BJPA), as well as his own gender and on post-war American Jewry, as wealth of research and ideas; Len, Director of well as her generous mentoring and support the Cohen Center for Modern Jewish Studies of peers and younger colleagues. Join us at and the Steinhardt Social Research Institute, the Sklare Memorial Lecture on Sunday, Dec. organizer of the recent Socio-Demographic 18, 4:15, to hear her address, and stay for the Conference that has generated enormous reception following immediately upon the dialogue, brings experience and ideas for close of that session (see announcements furthering the social scientific study of Jewry. elsewhere in the newsletter). Their collective strengths will empower our Board and organization and I look forward to ASSJ was very pleased to co-sponsor an working with them this year, as well as our unusual and fruitful conference on the continuing Board members. A very special Socio-Demography of American Jewry, thank you to Matt Boxer, who volunteered spearheaded by the Steinhardt Social multiple hours to get the elections running Research Institute at Brandeis, especially Len smoothly and to all members. Saxe and his staff. Bringing together major scholars and advocates of this topic. Many of Another new Board member is Bruce the topics will be discussed in a forthcoming Phillips, who will be taking over for Gail issue(s) of Contemporary Jewry. We hope to Glicksman as Treasurer until the end of her contribute to more venues of this type, to term. Besides his willingness to pour over our facilitate progress in our field. financial treasures, Bruce brings a long legacy of research and policy involvement which will We are also planning to co-sponsor sessions enrich ASSJ. at the Eastern Sociological Society meetings With that, I must thank Gail Glicksman, in February, 2012 (New York) and the Keren McGinity and Randall Schnoor for Association for Sociology of Religion in their service on the Board, which has been August, 2012 (Denver). Look for exemplary. I know we will be able to count on announcements on the ASSJ listserv. their continued involvement to bring new perspectives and input to what we do. Speaking of sessions, check out the list of social-science related sessions at AJS Keren was very active in advocating, compiled by the BJPA (with some input by promoting, and bringing to fruition our new ASSJ) and attached to this newsletter. Berman Service Award, named after Mandel Thanks to Steven Cohen, Seth Chalmer, "Bill" Berman, and intended to honor those and Ira Sheskin for their good work on who contribute either philanthropically and/or compiling this list and making it available. 3 The Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry Volume 3 Number 2 As you'll read in more detail elsewhere in the Table of Contents newsletter, the newly sponsored ASSJ book series, Studies of Jews in Society, has moved American Jewish Year Book is Returning. 4 its publisher to the University of Nebraska ASSJ Book Series. 5 Press, in order to make its publications more News from Members. 6 accessible and affordable to all readers. Sklare Award. 16 Please consider submitting your manuscripts Riv-Ellen Prell.. 17 and manuscript ideas to the General Series ASSJ Page. 19 Editor (myself), and encourage colleagues Contemporary Jewry Pages.. 20 and friends to do likewise. North American Jewish Data Bank Pages. 22 Berman Jewish Policy Archive Page. 24 Thank you for ratifying the by-law changes ASSJ at the Jewish Federation of Washington. 25 suggested by the Executive Board. The new Board configuration will be the 4 officers, 5 Berman Foundation Dissertation Fellowships. 26 at-large Board members, the newsletter Seminar: Holocaust Geographies. 28 editor, international and student Ruth Diskin Films. 28 representatives, and immediate past Work and Family Researchers Network. 28 president. Next year's elections will be Taglit-Birthright Israel Research Grants.. 29 completed by December 1st. Other changes Members in the News.. 31 bring the by-laws into sync with actual Sklare and Berman Award Announcements. 36 practices for the past few years. Obituaries. 37 Jewish Journal of Sociology. 38 Welcome to our new members, and let me Still Jewish Review. 39 remind each of you to be on the lookout for Judaism and Jewish Culture. 41 potential members. If you send me names TAU International MA in Migration Studies.. 42 and contact information, I'll be happy to invite Britain’s National Jewish Student Survey. 43 them personally to become members of ASSJ and enrich our conversations and ideas. Focus on Gender Issues. 45 Feinstein Center for American Jewish History. 47 This year's Board meeting will be held Talking about Jewish Women and Comics. 48 Sunday, from 1-2 PM at the Grand Hyatt Studies of Jews in Society (ASSJ book series). 49 Washington DC, in the Farragut room. An Transcending Trauma. 50 additional meeting time has been scheduled Still Jewish. 51 for Monday 1-2 (same room) if needed. All AJS 2011 Resource Guide.. 53 members are welcome to attend. Finally, I can't close without thanking Ira Includes Special Sheskin profusely for his diligence in producing a full and news-filled newsletter. Many hours go into soliciting and arranging Pull-Out Section (p. 53) this information, and he never fails to give us plenty to think about. Thank you to all Resource Guide to the contributors, and especially to Ira. 2011 AJS Conference! I hope to see many of you at AJS, Harriet ([email protected]) 4 The Association for the Social Scientific Study of Jewry Volume 3 Number 2 The American Jewish Year Book Is Returning! I n 2008, the American Jewish Committee ceased publication of the American Jewish Year Book after 108 years, a victim of the current economic recession and changing technology. With a new publishing model, AJYB will resume publication with the 2012 Year Book in December 2012. The project is being generously supported by funds from: 1) The Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies at the University of Miami (Haim Shaked, Director); 2) The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at the University of Connecticut (Jeremy Teitelbaum, Dean); and 3) Springer, a major scientific publisher. The editors of the AJYB are: 1) Arnold Dashefsky (Doris and Simon Konover Chair of Judaic Studies, Professor of Sociology, the Director of the Center of Judaic Studies and Contemporary Jewish Life, and the Director of the Berman Institute - North American Jewish Data Bank, all at the University of Connecticut) 2) Ira M. Sheskin (Professor of Geography and Director of the Jewish Demography Project of the Sue and Leonard Miller Center for Contemporary Judaic Studies at the University of Miami) 3) Sergio DellaPergola (The Shlomo Argov Chair in Israel-Diaspora Relations and the Head of the Division of Jewish Demography and Statistics at the Avraham Institute of Contemporary Jewry, both at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem).