The Chronicle of Higher Education
Date: November 1, 1996
Section: Opinion
Page: B7
To the Editor:
Ornan Yekutieli's statement that "the steady rise in Jerusalem's ultra-Orthodox Jewish population and the religious regulations that its political representatives have succeeded in imposing on the city are making Jerusalem unattractive to students," and Hanoch Gutfreund's acknowledgment that "the city [is] becoming less attractive to young people" are simply not true (Dispatch Case, September 27). The fact is that each year thousands of young people come from all over the world to study in Jerusalem's yeshivas and seminaries. And they come precisely because Jerusalem has a religious "flavor" that is unequaled anywhere else in the world.
Israeli programs for American students who have completed high school have grown at an unprecedented rate over the past decade. Most of these students stay a year or two and return to the U.S. to attend college. They often receive credit toward their baccalaureate degree for their studies in Israel.
Perhaps Mr. Yekutieli and Hebrew University should pay attention to "where the action is" and rethink their approaches to religion so that Hebrew University will also benefit from the increasing numbers of students interested in an educational experience that combines the secular and the religious.
Larry E. Levine
Professor of Mathematical Sciences
Stevens Institute of Technology
Hoboken, N.J.
Copyright (c) 1996 by The Chronicle of Higher Education, Inc.
http://chronicle.com
Title: Jerusalem Appeals to Students
Published: 96/11/01