The Story of the NCJD and JDC
by Therese Shellabarger
The National Congress of Jewish Deaf (NCJD) was
established in 1956 by Jewish Deaf leaders in New York City who realized
the need for Jewish Deaf groups to join together to foster Judaism on a
national level in their community. The leaders formed a committee and
elected a chairman, Philip Hanover and a secretary, Harold Steinman, to
plan a national convention. They decided to call it `The National
Convention of the Jewish Deaf." The New York Hebrew. Association of the
Deaf agreed to be the sponsor, and Mrs. Anna Plapinger loaned money to
finance it.
The first convention was held at the Hotel Manhattan Towers in New York
City and was considered a great success. In addition to the New York
Hebrew Association of the Deaf, other founding organizations represented
at this first meeting were Chicago Hebrew Association of the Deaf (now
known as Congregation Bene Shalom), Cleveland Hebrew Association of the
Deaf, and Philadelphia Hebrew Association of the Deaf. The first governing
body was voted in with Philip Hanover as president; Leonard Warshawsky,
vice president; Shirley Lerner, secretary; and Anna Plapinger, treasurer.
The Philadelphia Hebrew Association of the Deaf was awarded the honor of
hosting the second gathering in 1958. At the second convention in Atlantic
City, N.J., a constitution and bylaws were approved, and a new name, The
National Congress of Jewish Deaf (NCJD), was adopted.
In 1988, the NCJD Board discovered that the organization had 501(C)(4)
status. Alan Hurwitz, the vice president for administration in the NCJD in
1988, explained, "Our NPO (not for profit) attorney discovered it and
recommended that we change to 501(C)(3) in order to qualify for tax
exemption and grant applications. When he realized that the NCJD books
were not in order, he recommended that we form a separate organization
which subsequently became a new organization, Jewish Deaf Congress (JDC)."
In 1990, Hurwitz set up a new 501(C)(3) organization under the name
Jewish Deaf Congress (JDC). The General Assembly at the 1994 NCJD
Convention in Toronto, Canada, voted to pursue the concept of a single
organization which would preserve NCJD's heritage by officially
recognizing the JDC as an outgrowth of the NCJD. This was completed in
1996 and assets and bylaws of the NCJD were officially transferred to the
JDC.
Conferences
The first official NCJD Convention was held in 1956 in New
York. In the beginning, these gatherings were held in even years, but as
so many Deaf organizations held major events in even years, it was decided
in 1998 that future events would be during odd years, starting in 2001.
Just prior to that, in 1997, the J DC Board voted to change the name of
its biennial gatherings from "Convention" to "Conference." Highlights of
NCJD/JDC Conferences include workshops, the Miss NCJD/JDC pageant, a
Shabbat dinner with an awards ceremony, and the election of a national
board of directors.
Past conventions had a delegates meeting where representatives from
affiliate organizations would make a report of what was going on with
their organization and bring up any issues they wanted the NCJD to help
with. This would be followed by a general meeting where delegates and the
general membership would debate for hours on motions, followed by an
election on Friday. There were many committees as well: Ways & Means,
Auditing, Nominating, and Resolutions were among a few. Special Interest
Groups (SIGs), which were first established in 1986, continue to provide
opportunities for meetings on issues of interest to a some members.
Currently, there are six SIGs: Rabbis, Interpreters, Parents and
Educators, Young Adults, and Lesbians and Gays.
The biennial awards ceremony honors the memory of past
notable NCJD/JDC members and recognizes the achievements of current
members. The Anna & Henry Plapinger Award, established in 1976, is given
to a Jewish Deaf member of a NCJD/JDC affiliate for their past five years
of outstanding service to the Jewish Deaf community. The Plapinger Youth
Essay Award, established in 1984, recognizes a Jewish Deaf or hard of
hearing student age 12 to 18 who has submitted the best essay on a topic
chosen by the Executive Committee. In 2001, a category was added for
Children's Age 8-12 Essay. The Celia & Leonard Warshawsky Award,
established in 1986, honors a Jewish Deaf adult age 17 to 35 who has made
outstanding contributions to furthering Jewish and religious opportunities
for young adults. The Philip Hanover Award, established in 1988, is given
to recognize the past NCJD/JDC President upon completion of their term in
office.
Another conference highlight is the announcement of inductees to
the NCJD/JDC Hall of Fame. Those honored are chosen in categories of
religion, general leadership, professional, and sports by a panel
comprised of presidents of JDC affiliates, NCJD/JDC officers and past
presidents, and the Hall of Fame committee. Hall of Famers are Jewish Deaf
men and women whose involvement and accomplishments provide a role model
for members of the Jewish Deaf community.
Membership
Members of the JDC are called stakeholders and provide input
to the JDC Board of Directors. Benefits of membership include a
subscription to JDC's publication, The JDC Quarterly, which is published
four times annually. Membership categories currently include Single,
Family, Affiliate, and Associate Affiliate. However, Martin Florsheim, JDC
Board President, said that will soon change. "Beginning July 15, 2003, JDC
will have subscribers-to support both the organization and its
publication, the Quarterly. They may pay biennially or annually."
Affiliates are Jewish Deaf organizations which have paid dues;
Associate Affiliates are hearing agencies. Affiliates in the U.S. and
Canada take turns hosting the biennial conventions and receive 25 percent
of any profits. At the 1984 convention, the bylaws were amended to require
affiliates to be members for at least 6 years before being eligible to
host conventions. In 1992, the NCJD had 14 affiliates and 6 associate
affiliates. Today, there are 8 affiliates and 1 associate affiliate. Under
the JDC, the past few conferences have been hosted under the conventor
plan, but affiliates may still host future conferences if they wish.
Jewish Deaf Archives
Despite several efforts over the years, the JDC has never had a
permanent home office. A committee was established at the 1980 NCJD
Convention to investigate the idea of getting money from hearing Jewish
organizations to scat up an office in Washington, DC, but nothing came of
it. As a result, the NCJD continued to have a problem of what to do with
all the accumulated historical materials they were receiving, either from
materials sent to officers and donated to the organization, or from
various generous benefactors.
At the 15th Biennial Convention in 1984, the NCJD Executive
Board voted to setup an archive at the Gallaudet University library, which
generously donated the space. Helena Schmitt was appointed to serve as the
first archivist. She said that the original collection had been stored in
her home, which was too small for the purpose. The NCJD/JDC Archives at
Gallaudet University includes past NCJD/JDC Quarterly publications, Jewish
Deaf affiliates newsletters, videotapes and films, books, and mementos
from the past century. It is located in a reserved area of the Gallaudet
Library that is only open on weekdays. Visitors with permission from Steve
Brenner, the current Archivist, may call in advance for an appointment,
but must visit the library directly in order to view the materials.
According to Ulf Hedberg, Director of Archives at Gallaudet University, no
new materials have been added for the last five years.
The JDC Board of Directors
The first JDC Board was selected by the NCJD in 1992 and consisted
of Barbara Boyd, President, Martin Florsheim and T. Alan Hurwitz, Vice
Presidents, Judy Slomovic-Gunter, Executive Secretary, and Stephen
Brenner, Treasurer. At the 1996 Convention in Chicago, the JDC Board
announced that from that point on, the Board would vote for officers and
make final decisions on any changes in JDC bylaws and constitution.
Florsheim explained the procedure for becoming an officer on the board.
"Anyone interested in applying for a vacancy on the board may do so by
writing to the President of the organization at any time." Hurwitz said,
"It was the attorney's recommendation at that time to simplify and
expediate the process for incorporation. It was also with the
understanding that once the incorporation completed its probationary
period after 4 years it could modify its bylaws to allow membership to
have voting privileges and expand board membership."
The right of representatives of affiliate organizations to have
voice and vote was passed by NCJD members at the 3rd biennial convention
in Chicago, IL. in 1960. The JDC Board's decision to remove this right in
1996 was very controversial because it was done without consent of the
members themselves. As a result, some affiliates failed to renew their
memberships. They saw little purpose since they no longer had any vote in
the organization. However, the JDC Board has a different view of the
situation. When asked how many members the JDC has, Florsheim responded,
"JDC has never had members."
Asked about reaction of affiliates to the new structure of the JDC,
Florsheim said, "As with all changes, some members fully support the
organization's efforts to grow into the 21st century, incorporating
changes not only in organizational structure but within both the Jewish
and deaf communities. We have affiliates who are fully in support of the
current structure of JDC. Others have resisted change and want to return
to the past. All subscribers have a voice in the organization; every
single affiliate is invited to send a representative to the conference,
and the Board meets with the affiliate representatives." According to
Florsheim, the Bylaws for the JDC were approved at the 1996 Chicago
Convention, but a glance at the December 1996 issue of the JDC Quarterly
shows that members could not have had full knowledge of the final result,
as Boyd wrote in her editorial, "Alan [Hurwitz] has been instrumental in
the transition, guiding us through the process. He will continue to work
with us in developing the merged NCJD and JDC, Inc. bylaws."
The JDC Board has made other decisions affecting its members
without seeking approval from those affected. From 1962 to 1988, the NCJD
had a category called Life Membership which included the Quarterly;
individual active members ware allowed to pay $100 for a membership that
would not expire during their lifetime. In 1984, this amount was increased
to $150. On October 1,1998, when Life Membership was closed, the total
number of people who had paid was 50; some have since passed away so that
today there are approximately 30 Life Members still remaining. At a
meeting of the JDC Board in Las Vegas in October 2002, board officers
decided that-starting July 7, 2003-Life Members must pay biennial
subscriber fees if they wish to continue receiving the Quarterly.
Florsheim explained that since the JDC has no members, it also has no Life
Members.
The JDC's 23rd Biennial Conference will be held July 712, 2003 at
the the Four Seasons Hotel in Las Vegas, NV. Among the activities will be
an Affiliates Forum on Tuesday, July 8th and a Subscriber's Forum on
Wednesday, July 9th. More information can be found on JDC's temporary
website.
http://www.conf2003jdc.com
1956-2003 Conference Sites
1956 New York, NY New York H.A.D.*
1958 Atlantic City, NJ Philadelphia H.A.D.
1960 Chicago, IL Chicago H.A.D.
1962 Washington, DC Jewish Deaf Society of Baltimore
1964 New York, NY New York H.A.D.
1966 Cleveland, OH Cleveland H.A.D.
1968 Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles H.A.D.
1970 Chicago, IL Chicago H.A.D.
1972 Atlantic City, NJ Conventor Plan - NCJD Board
1974 New York, NY New York H.A.D.
1976 Boston, MA Boston H.A.D.
1978 Beverly Hills, CA Temple Beth Solomon of the Deaf
1980 Kerhonkson, NY Temple Beth Or of the Deaf
1982 Washington, DC Conventor Plan - NCJD Board
1984 Loch Sheldrake, NY New York H.A.D.
1986 Philadelphia, PA Philadelphia H.A.D.
1988 Anaheim, CA Temple Beth Solomon of the Deaf
1990 Secaucus, NJ. Brooklyn Hebrew Soc. of the Deaf
1992 Denver, CO Conventor Plan - NCJD Board
1994 Toronto, Canada Toronto Jewish Assoc of the Deaf
1996 Chicago IL Congregation Bene Shalom
1998 Universal City, CA Temple Beth Solomon of the Deaf
2001 Washington, DC Conventor Plan - JDC & WOJD**
2003 Las Vegas, NV Conventor Plan - JDC Board
*H.A.D. - Hebrew Association of the Deaf
**WOJD - World Organization of Jewish Deaf
Achievements
1958: Established The NCJD Quarterly publication 1980 Established Rabbi
Endowment Fund for rabbinical students interested in serving spiritual
needs of the Jewish Deaf community
1970: Established Youth Program (Jr. NCJD)
1977: Helped establish World Congress of Jewish Deaf (WOJD). NCJD member
Alexander Fleischman was elected as first president of this organization
1984: Established NCJD Archives at Gallaudet College, NCJD Hall of Fame,
and Young Adults Program .
1986: Publication of Signs In Judaism: A Resource Book for the Jewish Deaf
Community by Adele K. Shuart and the NCJD. Added requirement of Kosher
supervision for all food events at NCJD Conventions.
1988: Published Favorite Jewish Recipes by Rita Florsheim and Karen
Rothschild, and Jewish Deaf Trivia by Sharon Ann Dror
1998: Published JDC Directory of Sign Language Interpreters :;.
2001: Established Children's Program Fund in memory of Bethany Roer for 8
program of activities for ch'&ein during JDC Conventions
2002: Published Family Haggadah by Dr. Barbara Boyd and Stephen Brenner
Anna & Henry Plapinger Award
1978 - Meyer Lief
1980 - Alice Brand
1982 - Alvin Klugman
1984 - Erick Fleischer
1986 - Eva Rosenstein
1988 - Edith Chaplan
1990 - Sally Auerbach
1992 - Fred Katz
1994 - Ira Lerner
1996 - Stephen Brenner
1998 - Bess Hyman
2001 - Marlyn Wayne
Celia & Leonard Warshawsky Award
1990 - Sharon Ann Dror
1992 - Charles Farr
1994 - Judy Slomovic Gunter
1996 - Debbie Fink
1998 - Susan Margolin
2001 - Samuel Sonnenstrahl
Plapinger Youth Essay Award
(Age 13-18)
1990 - David J. Kurs
1992 - David J. Kurs
1994 - No Winner
1996 - Shoshanna Stem
1998 - No Winner
2001 - Francis Ross Steele
(Age 8-12)
2001 - Phyllis Dyan Steele