Jewish Community Study

Thank you for the recent article about the St. Louis Jewish Community Study (“Federation plans demographic study of local Jewish community,” Jan. 8).  As you reported, Federation’s study is being done for the benefit of our community agencies, organizations and synagogues. 

To that end, the study itself is being designed with extensive input from representatives of each of these organizations. These representatives have been invited to participate in focus groups starting later this month led by researchers at Jewish Policy & Action Research, the group that is conducting our study. An additional open town hall meeting will be scheduled in February or March to ensure that all voices are heard.  

We also wanted to recognize the service of our Community Study Advisory Committee chaired by Les Sterman. Les served as executive director of the East-West Gateway Council of Governments, the region’s chief planning body, for 26 years and is uniquely qualified to lead such an important project. 

Our Advisory Committee comprises a diverse group of lay leaders who have already demonstrated their engagement and dedication to the array of congregational, organizational and other forms of connection to Jewish life in our region. In addition to Les, they include Barry Seeskin, Emily Stein MacDonald, Harvey Hieken, Jeff Glogower, Karen Tabak, Mark Levin, Michael Novack, Neil Marglous, Paul Kravitz, Patty Croughan (ex officio), Ruth Raskas (ex officio) and Greg Yawitz (ex officio).

 We look forward to updating the community as the project moves forward.

Andrew Rehfeld, Jewish Federation of St. Louis President and CEO;

Susan Scribner, Jewish Federation Senior Planning and Allocations Associate 

Universities should stop their support of ASA

As highlighted in your recent editorial (“Academic Heal Thyself,” Dec. 25), the American Studies Association has voted to boycott Israel, in spite of the outstanding human rights record that universities in Israel have.  In nations such as Iran, Saudi Arabia and China, these rights are routinely ignored and dissent is stifled.  St. Louis has two major universities that are institutional members of the ASA, St. Louis University and Washington University.  

Both universities should resign their memberships, just as six other institutions have done to date. No university should offer financial support, nor the support of its prestige, to the ASA.

Please contact St. Louis University acting president William Kauffman, [email protected], 314-977-2506; and Washington University chancellor Mark Wrighton, [email protected], 314-935-5100, to voice your opinion on this matter.  A full list of institutional members of the ASA can be found at http://goo.gl/u5auxu.

Laura Goldmeier (Graduate of Washington University, A.B. 1976, M.D. 1981), Creve Coeur