The Phoenix Jewish news., 1954-07-09
Israel DidrY

Editors Note: This is the first
of a series of reports from Eu-
rope and Israel by the cO-pub-
Usher of The Phoenix jewish
News. Subsequent reports Will
deal with Israel.)
By Bertha Goldman
GENEVA-This is the city OF
international fame as headquarters
for many worldwide groups. In
fact, the Geneva conference was in
progress during my stay here and
the city was alive with the color
of flags and the many delegates
from different nations.
l called at the World ORT Union
office Chats the Organization for
Rehabilitation through Training)
and met two very unusual men
DR.. Max Broude, an intense, inter-
esting American rabbi who is the
director of World ORT, and DR.. l.
Sznzuloniski, the president, who is
the only "stateless" person to ever
receive a decoration from the
French government-an honor he
has just received. His citation
reads: For contribution to young
people through reconstruction Tor
peaceful purposes.
ORT maintains trade schools
throughout the world and has ex-
panded steadily since its founding
in Russia about rs years ago. AS
part and parcel of the picture in
Europe, ORT lost 1 ,150 of its teach
ers to Hitler's crematoria-almost
the entire trained staff.
With his customary vigor for at
tacking a difficult problem, DR..
Sznzuloniski established a school
for training teachers at Aniers,
Switzerland, a unique school In
Europe.
HERE ABOUT 100 Jewish young
men came from many countries
II the day l visited-to learn to
teach their chosen trade. They
must be masters in their country
of origin, spend two years at ORT,
one year as an apprentice to a
Swiss master, then pass Swiss state
exams, which makes them tops
in their fields. The fields include
electrical, plumbing, telephone, au-
to mechanics, television, woodwork
ing, carpentry and die and tool
making. Although they can COM
mand the highest wage in industry,
they are pledged to teach in an
ORT school for three years and
most of them stay with ORT as
their interest in their students
grows.
We visited the ORT school in
Rome which puts emphasis on
needle trades and has different
character than other ORT schools.
Located near the ghetto, it must
catch the boy before he hits the
street selling small items like his
father. So they take them at II
years, where IA is the preferred
age for vocational training. The di-
rector gave my husband hammer
made by one of the students.
THE GHETTO is just as it stood
in 1870 when the gates were, op-
ened. Yet 1000 of the $4,000 Jews
of Rome continue to live there.
These 80 years seem to have made
little change in their way of life.
We were approached by former
Israeli who offered to guide us
through the ghetto, and he pointed
out the Lion of Judah, supposed to
have been removed from the Coli
scum after the Jews were freed
from slavery. Small Storerooms
and pushcarts give the dirty, mar
row streets a dismal look.
DR.. Richard Fischer, the direc-
tor, came from Austria and
Swan" to refuge in Italy. He's
an intellectual man of varied in
terests. He is a devotee of hiking
and mountaineering and lays claim
to have walked most of Italy while
on vacation. He gave us a won
derful historical background.
ROME HAS THE oldest cOntinu
o,,c Tou,icb ooYoYool1nifu in E1IrOne