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When a child we love is born, hope too is born. We hope that the child will have a safe and happy life. We hope that the child will grow into a person of valor. Our children's schools were a gateway to this world of hope. Until recently . . .

According to the National Education Association every six seconds a violent crime occurs in American schools and 270,000 weapons or knives are brought to school daily. (1a) Every day our school children risks of crime, violence, sexual harassment, drug addiction, and alcoholism - explaining why 1 out of every 10 children fear the entire day at school. (1b) Abuse aside, kids from secular school are much more likely to intermarry and to suffer daily from problems. We hope all these problems will not affect our children. Unfortunately, the fact that our communities are already affected proves that even good children from the best of homes are at risk.

To prevent these problems from affecting the children we love, the Jewish Education Network, has teamed up with the Jewish Education Program (JEP). They are offering concerned parents a potent solution: A new program to help any Jewish child to receive the kind of education he or she deserves: a solid Jewish education.

Now, any Jewish parent can call the new Jewish Education Hotline, to receive help to enroll their child in a Jewish school - and to resolve any relevant concerns they may have. The phone number is 718-941-2600 - to reach Rabbi Motty Katz, Educational Director of JEP. Via Internet e-mail the Jewish Education Hotline is at jenet@iname.com.

How does a mother feel if two hours after school is over, her child still has not returned? How she feels is an indication of the level of safety of her child's school. How safe her child feels at school is another indicator.

Too frequently, children are silent victims of violence at school today. Daily, they fear becoming a victim of a crime. Those already abused suffer from wounds far greater than the physical harm done - post traumatic stress. (3a) For silent victims, the word "playtime" is a synonym of "terror", because they fear aggressive classmates. In secular schools, as compared to Jewish schools, violence and sexual harassment pose a far greater risk - studies estimate that as many as one out of every three of girls are sexually victimized by the time they finish high school.6 Today, it is not that uncommon to see a young girl, from a public school, carrying a school bag who is seven months pregnant or who already had an abortion.

The closer a child is to drug use, the more likely he or she will become a drug abuser.2 16 times as many teachers reported moderate to serious drug problems in private schools than in Torah-Umesorah Hebrew day schools.4 This drug rate is 20 times higher in public schools. In 1996, nearly 17 percent of eighth-grade girls used marijuana and 21 percent reported smoking.5 These rates are higher for boys. Violence is essentially committed by those on drugs and alcohol according to Howard Safir, the Chief-of-Police of New York City. (4a) In Jewish Day schools illegal drug use is practically zero.3

President Clinton recently stated, "Protecting our children from school violence is more than a matter of law or policy; at heart, it is a matter of basic values, of conscience and community. We must teach our children to respect others. We must instill in them a deep, abiding sense of right and wrong."13 In other words, until America's children learn right and wrong, children at our nations schools remain at risk.

In Jewish schools, children are safe today. Jewish Day Schools have significantly lower problem rates than the national average of private schools in - violence, drugs, alcohol and crime.7 In Jewish schools promiscuity, teenage pregnancy, and sexually transmitted diseases are basically non-existent. Children there don't suffer the trauma and fear of violence. Social pressures are less and anti-Semitic abuse is not a risk.

Your child deserves to learn in a safe school.

A bar or bat mitzvah enters a child to 3,300 years of our family's Jewish heritage. It links them to a chain that extends to the time of the Exodus of Egypt. A child that intermarries breaks that chain.

The lack of proper Jewish education is the number one cause of intermarriage in America today: 70 out of 100 Jews who have no Jewish education intermarry. (Please see Chart 1) While 2 out of 100 children attending a Torah Jewish day school until grade 12 intermarried. (2a)

Realistically, the children we love associate with youth of all denominations - at school, at play, in sports, at work, at parties, at bars, and even at home - by watching TV, yet we surely expect them to marry Jewish. Unfortunately, too many children are not given enough of a Jewish upbringing not to assimilate. To compensate, a child needs a solid Jewish education.

How many times have children, who on the verge of intermarrying, blamed their parents «Why only now do you care about my Jewishness? You taught me to be "Jewish in the heart", but you never gave me a proper Jewish education. You should have given me a proper Jewish education before, and I wouldn't be intermarrying today!" Are our kids able to blame us for the same thing?

Our children are the next link in 3,300 years of our family's beautiful Jewish tradition. Should the chain be broken so easily? An ounce of prevention today, is better than a pound of cure tomorrow.

A Jewish school teaches children to understand the profound beauty of Judaism and the Jewish people. Sending them there transmits an important message to them - "We care about your Jewishness." This is why they are unlikely to intermarry if they attend a Jewish school.

Your child deserves to marry within our faith.

Children receive the best of both worlds in a Jewish school - they learn all the subjects taught at a public school in an environment conducive to learning, while receiving a proper Jewish education. In other schools 3 out of 4 students said they had trouble with disruptive classmates. 81% of teachers said undisciplined students were taking up most of their time. (7a) In Jewish schools students can concentrate tranquilly on learning and teachers can concentrate on teaching.

Students in Jewish schools play sports, learn music and participate in extracurricular activities. Many of them go on to becoming doctors, lawyers, scientists, managers, CPAs, and other professionals.

Recently, Bruce Alberts, president of the National Academy of Sciences, said about the state of American public schools "our students will be ill-prepared for decision-making in a largely scientific and technological world."8

A Jewish education teaches students to think and to be analytical - to ask questions and to seek answers. Students who learned the Talmud in school were able to learn to write computer programs two to four times faster than the average. (7b) Jewish school students score higher than the national average in secular subjects and fewer students drop out.

Your child deserves to be equipped for the future.

Peace, consideration and love are the foundations of the Jewish home. The Shabbat and Holidays allow family members to enjoy a closer relationship with one another. Their quality time together allows them to diminish family problems. Open communication is encouraged and families are much less likely to separate - the divorce rate Torah observant Jews is negligible compared to the over 52% in the secular society.9

Today, we hear of divorce, broken homes, lack of communication, disrespectful children, and generation gaps. out of marriage births . . . leaving families in dispair. Family separation causes much suffering and solitude - for children and parents alike. Now, we understand why Jews and non-Jews alike have admired Jewish family life throughout history.

Your child deserves to have a happy home.

A Torah education transmits that each new day is a new blessing. It provides rays of hope in every situation. Its positive outlook on life allows our child to understand and overcome life's daily challenges and prevent problems in life.

Psychologists repeat over and over, the main reason for problems with adolescents - like drug addiction, alcoholism, suicide, juvenile delinquency, and violence - is because they lack a sense on meaning in life and values. (9a) "Today, many youth are tormented ... by a society that lacks a sense of bearings; because they lack meaning in their lives, they resort to dangerous conduct." report psychologists Alain Vernet and Michel Hénin. (8) Living life with meaning, one prevents these problems.

The Torah teaches: that there is a greater, spiritual dimension to life; that each of our actions serve a higher purpose; that all positive efforts are appreciated from Above; and that each of us is an essential part of Am Yisrael - the people of Israel.

Your child deserves to live a meaningful life.

Why is it that children receive so much, yet remain unsatisfied? All their material wants are fulfilled yet they find reason to complain, and to rebel. Why?

To achieve profound happiness in life, a person must satisfy four psychological needs. These are the need for meaning, pleasure, understanding, and self-actualization.10 A Jewish education enables a child to meet all these needs. It build's a child's self-esteem. It enables a person to continually improve and reach his or her potential. It allows a person to attain lasting spiritual and emotional satisfaction.

Your child deserves to be happy.

By sending kids to a public school, society's values and problems find a way to enter our home. In a secular school, each child brings their home and street values to school. A child learns from friends what is right and what is wrong. If a child isn't instilled with positive life values with mentors, they may fill the void with any values that seem popular. If friends do drugs - taking drugs may become a positive value in their eyes. If friends steal - stealing may become a value they adopt. If friends are promiscuous - ones sons and daughters may follow.

A four-year old child in a Jewish school happily sings about the importance of helping out parents at home. Jewish schools teach children noble and lasting values, including - respect for others, honesty, responsibility, generosity, commitment to family, community and the Jewish people. It teaches children to be appreciated for their interior valor and not for their external appearance. Torah values. The school is a friendly partner and associate of parents in educating the children - helping them to give children solid foundations that will remain with them their entire lives.

Not only does a Jewish school teach values, but it applies them as well. Staff there treats children as if they are their own. Frequently, their mentors are living examples of the noble values they teach. Children learn by observation and association with them.

How satisfying it is when our children speak with respect, do kindness, and love their fellow man. What peace of mind we have when they behave properly.

Your child deserves to live with noble values.

Lack of real Jewish education is causing 700 to 800 Jews to convert weekly to other religions. Most members of today's cults are Jewish. Each year, over 600 different missionary groups spend over $200 million worldwide toward converting Jews. It is estimated that in the past 25 years, more than 500,000 Jews have succumbed to their efforts.11 If children are unaware of the beauty of Torah, they are susceptible to dangerous cults and missionaries.

Your child deserves to know about their Jewish Identity.

Within four generations there will be almost no trace of those who are currently being raised in homes where Judaism is not practiced or have no Jewish education. (Please see Chart 2) The current intermarriage rate among non-observant Jews is 72 out of 100, among reform 53, conservative 37, compared to 3 out of 100 for Torah observant Jews.12 From the time of World War II till today we lost over 6 million Jews to assimilation and intermarriage. More Jews than we lost to the Holocaust. Enrolling children in a Jewish school is the best one can do to stop this crisis.

Your child deserves to help the continuity of the Jewish people.

Our children learn to live and love their Jewish heritage in a Jewish school. They form an eternal connection with their family's beautiful Jewish traditions. They learn the importance of celebrating Jewish holidays and of participating in synagogue services. They taste the sweetness of learning Torah. Jewish subjects are taught in a manner to allow students to adapt at their own pace.

Your child deserves to live with our great Jewish heritage.

A Jewish education is accessible to every Jewish family. Scholarships are available, making it affordable for any budget. It is an investment in a child's well being and growth. It's an investment in the family's future.

Asking questions can help parents decide whether to send their child to a Jewish school or to leave him or her in a secular school. Please ask yourself now: How important is it to me that my children learn in a safe, warm and caring environment? that they become well-balanced individuals? that they associate with friends with similar values? that children get a solid secular education? that they are respectful? that they not get involved with drugs, promiscuity, alcoholism or violence? that they learn positive life values? that they preserve and transmit their Jewish heritage? that the Jewish people survive? that my grandchildren be Jewish? that they are close to us when we get older? that they lead a peaceful, meaningful, happy life?

Every day, three times a day, Jews throughout the centuries recited in our most important prayer, the Shema, that it is incumbent upon parents to give their children a Jewish education. Isn't it time we hear the message?

Regardless of your child's age now - from preschool to adulthood - JEP can help them benefit from a proper Jewish education. We will try to help your child in any way possible. We can help you:

1. To learn more about Jewish education,

2. To select a good school,

3. To have a child accepted

4. To work with schools to meet financial needs and

5. For those over 18, to find the right 6-week learning and touring program in Israel that offers scholarships.

If you have children or grand-children that are currently not attending a Jewish school and you would like to them to benefit from the advantages of a Jewish school, please contact Rabbi Motty Katz, Educational Director of JEP, today, at 718-941-2600 or e-mail the Jewish Education Network at jenet@iname.com.

Or you can contact the schools directly from the list below. If you encounter any difficulties, please contact us and we can help you to resolve them.

If you have friends or family whose children don't attend a Jewish school, you can speak with them about the importance of a Jewish education and give them a copy of this booklet. This booklet may be reproduced in small quantities provided it is not altered, it is not sold and the source is mentioned. We retain all copyrights.

If you know of anyone who may be able to benefit from a Jewish education, you can send us their name, address and or phone number and we can send them a booklet.

Looking forward to hearing from you.

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333/12 Idelsohn - Jerusalem, Israel, 97665

Contact: Matitia Chetrit

tel/fax: 001-972-2-571-2496

email: jenet@iname.com

http://www.oocities.org/Heartland/Acres/2233

Jewish Education Program (JEP) - Queens, NY - Contact: Rabbi Motty Katz - 718-941-2600

Ozar HaTorah, Paris, 01-43-38-73-40

M. Mimran, Directeur de l'Ecole Girsa, a 41-22-735-31-88