The Israeli Deaf Community is battling with the rabbinate. They claim that Deaf Jewish people wishing to marry through the auspices of the rabbinate are forced to undergo humiliating hearing tests by the rabbis. They say the tests are carried out in two ways—first they are asked to turn around and repeat what the rabbi behind them whispers to them, and on the second test the rabbi hides his lips with his hand and whispers. If they successfully pass the test, the couple gets a regular marriage license, but if they fail, they get a special license for the Deaf, the insane and the minor"! A recent article reported that Erez and Silvey Zino from Neve Savyon received a marriage license for the deaf "despite the fact that their hearing is only slightly impaired". Silvey, 24, a bookkeeper and member of an organization for Deaf Rights, says We are well aware of our responsibilities to each other as a married couple, no less than the hearing... The rabbinate must focus on issues related to religion and not medical issues. The rabbis have no ability to determine what the extent of our hearing is and how we operate." Erez Zino, 26, a computer student at the Tel Aviv College asks "why do we need to go through a series of humiliating [experiences] in order to get married. Perhaps we do not hear and speak as well but it does not bother us in meeting everything that every hearing man is capable of. We have no brain deficiencies and we certainly understand what our responsibilities include." Aharon Inai, an attorney for the Deaf organization, declares that "the marriage license for the Deaf is suitable for the Middle Ages, and not the year 2,000. Those hard of hearing know how to read and write, most of them hear and speak and they all know sign language. The humiliating treatment toward them from the rabbinate is shameful. On the one hand we go through the circumcision ritual, bar-mitzvah and we are fit to pray in a quorum of men, and on the other hand, they treat us as second class Jews. The religious establishment must undergo significant changes in its dealing with us in order to wipe out the disgrace." Itai Ashera, a reporter with Maariv, writes in an article that The rabbinate explains that the difference between the marriage licenses comes from a Jewish legal ruling and out of concern for the wife of a m;. who is hard of hearing. There are a number of differences between the special marriage license for the deaf and the regular one, said Rabbi Yehuda Landau, head of the marriage division at the Tel Aviv rabbinate. First of all, three witnesses must sign the deaf license instead of two since according to Jewish law, a deaf man, due to his disability, can not obligate himself enough from a mental point of view to his partner since he does not understand what is asked of him. The deaf marriage license includes an Aramaic section stating that the obligations of a deaf man to his wife are insubstantial. Rabbi Landau said that the deaf license indicates that the groom hinted the obligations to his partner, but did not obligate to them. The reason for this is that usually the deaf are also mute and have a difficult time expressing themselves in words, therefore only through hints. Due to the deaf persons limitation towards obligation, the laws toward his wife are different than those of a regular man..."

'Rosh Hashanah' Lecture In Virginia
    The Northern Virginia Jewish Deaf and Washington Society of Jewish Deaf are co-sponsoring a lecture by David Kastor on the meaning of 'Rosh Hashanah' on Sunday, August 30th at the Northern Virginia Resource Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing (NVRC). For information, contact Jeff Dunefsky at 703/449-9846 TTY or email to him at DUNE4@aol.com

Meet Deaf Jewish People On The Internet
    The Jewish Community Online Deaf and Hard of Hearing organized a 'Deaf Jews' chat in their Jewish Life room. Its moderator says if enough participation and feedback takes place, they may consider expanding the chat to a more popular time slot and also include discussions from professionals in Deaf Education, families with Deaf members and even single Deaf Jewish people. A recent chat focused on 'When the Deaf Community isn't Jewish, and the Jewish Community isn't Deaf. How do you balance?' For more information, contact JCommAnne@aol.com

Researcher Seeks Help With ASL Translations
    David Bar-Tzur in Rochester, NY is currently translating Jewish services into American Sign Language (ASL) and would like input on which siddur (prayerbook) to base the translation on. He can be reached at dabdis@rit.edu and his website is at http://www.rit.edu/-dabdis

Jewish Deaf Issues At Gallaudet Forum
    Gallaudet University's Continuing Education has announced that they are having a forum on 'Interpreting in Jewish Settings'. Dr. Sheryl Cooper is moderating this workshop which will take place in Room 3100 of the Kellogg Conference Center in Washington, D.C. on Sunday, September 13, 1998 from 9am to 3pm. This workshop will review the basic principles of Judaism as in Jewish settings. Topics will include foundations for interpreting for Jewish holidays, Shabbat services, religious classes, and life cycle events with emphasis on appropriate behavior (including customs, dress, and etiquette), and signs for specialized Hebrew and English vocabulary. Includes lecture, group discussion, and hands-on practice activities. Cost is $45 and .5 CMP: Professional Studies, Introductory, RID or ACET Continuing Education unit is also offered.

Signing Choir At D.C. Congregation
    Janice Rosen shares with us the news that volunteers from the Deaf Community will  be signing music during a High Holiday Selichot Service at the Adas Israel Congregation in Washington, D.C. at the 'Hush of Midnight Service' on Saturday, September 12, 1998, from 11:00 p.m. to midnight. "The Selichot Service heralds in the High Holiday Season and is held one or two Saturdays before Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The Service is free and admission tickets are not needed." For information, contact Adas Israel Congregation at 202/362-4433, Voice.

New Booklet On Accommodating Deaf In Jewish Classroom
    Batya Jacob, program coordinator of 'Our Way' in New York says they would welcome personal experiences, anecdotes and comments for a booklet 'The Hearing Impaired Child in the Jewish Classroom' that they are producing to provide information for teachers in Yeshiva, day and Jewish nursery schools. This booklet provides guidelines on integrating "hearing impaired and deaf students into the mainstream classroom". They will also start a series of booklets covering Jewish holidays that are geared to school-age children and adults starting with the first one in September covering the Jewish New Year. For information, contact the 'Our Way' office at 333 Seventh Avenue, New York, NY 10001, call 212/613-8234 or fax to 212/613-8333.

Jewish Nursery School Positive About Signs!

   For the second consecutive year, second-year students at Maimonides Nursery School in Albany, NY are learning sign language, thanks to the efforts of Deborah Gurnson, a teacher at the school. Although there are no deaf students enrolled at the school, her class of four and five year old students are learning so they can "develop empathy for others." She also explains that "Learning a second language increases vocabulary development and information retention."

DC Holocaust Conference Attended By 175
    Along with people from the Gallaudet University community, participants at a conference at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington, D.C. also included survivors from Budapest, Hungary. Peter Farago, one of the survivors who was 10 years old at that time, recalled his experience of being sent with his mother to the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in Germany. Discussion also covered how the Nazis formulated a policy to create an 'Aryan master race' after Adolf Hitler came to power in 1933 which forced the sterilization, incarceration and murder of disabled persons including Deaf people. Sign language, voice and oral interpreters were present and presentations were also projected on video screen with captions. The conference was organized by Donna Ryan and John Schuchman of Gallaudet's history and government departments. Ryan says she knows of 12 Deaf people worldwide who survived the Holocaust and are still alive today. She had learned of the Hungarian survivors through a former Gallaudet student who currently directs the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee's office in Hungary. Videotapes of Deaf witnesses and artistic performances expressing the Deaf experience was also shared. Rabbi Fred Friedman, a deaf Orthodox rabbi from Baltimore, MD and himself the son of two Holocaust survivors, led a memorial service to honor the Deaf victims and survivors of the Holocaust in the museum's Hall of Remembrance on June 22nd.

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