The JDC Story: Part II
Administrator February 13, 2007 - כ"ה שבט תשס"ז
The 1974 Convention in New York City featured a successful Las Vegas Night that was conducted by the officers of the NCJD, with the proceeds going to the Endowment Fund.
The American Bicentennial year found NCJD in historic Boston for its 11th Biennial Convention. Student Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb conducted the Tisha B’ Av Service during the convention. The NCJD sponsored a tour of Israel during the summer of 1977 in conjunction with efforts to form an international organization of deaf people. There in Israel the World Organization of the Jewish Deaf (WOJD) was formed with Alexander Fleischman elected as the first president. Through the kindness of Anna Plapinger, the Anna and Henry Plapinger Fund was established to provide recognition for deserving individuals as well as to support the NCJD Endowment Fund.
At the successful 1978 convention in Beverly Hills, California, the Plapinger Award was given for the first time to honor deaf and hard of hearing Jewish leaders. A history-making first formal NCJD Board meeting was held between conventions in November 1979.
In 1980 NCJD had a “vacation-convention” at the Catskill’s Granite Hotel and Country Club in Kerhonkson, New York, An impressive workshop on Hebrew relics was held. A new project on collecting information about Jewish Deaf Personalities was initiated.
In 1982, the Convention was held at the Washington Hilton Hotel in the nation’s capital. A power failure occurred but did not hamper the spirit of those attending. Rabbi Elyse Goldstein gave a stimulating sermon, “Dreams for a Future Deaf Rabbi.” An informal youth workshop was initiated.
NCJD members went back to the Borscht-bet of Brown’s Hotel in Loch Sheldrake, New York, in 1984. Five rabbis serving the Jewish deaf community attended this convention. The program included a rabbinical round table discussion on topics related to deafness. The NCJD Hall of Fame was initiated and the NCJD Archives were established.
In 1986, the Holiday Inn in historic Philadelphia was the convention site. Interpreters and parents were actively vocal at sessions, and the first of the organization’s Special Interest Groups (SIG) was formed. The Celia Warshawsky Award to honor young adults was established. Signs of Judaism, authored by Adele K. Shuart went on sale. This 176-page book of illustrations and explanations, plus a brief history of Judaism and deafness, was written to provide assistance to rabbis, educators, interpreters, and parents of deaf children as well as deaf adults themselves.
The Disneyland Hotel in Anaheim, California, attracted members in 1988. Host Temple Beth Solomon was fortunate to receive a sizable grant to cover most of the convention expenses. The convention program highlighted several workshops and an entertaining Saturday-evening program with all deaf professional actors and actresses. Jewish Deaf Trivia by Sharon Ann Dror and Jewish Cook Book by Karen Rothschild and Rita Florsheim were sold. A complete Proceedings of the Convention was published.
With the inspiring backdrop of New York City’s skyline, the Statue of Liberty, and the Meadowlands sports complex, host Brooklyn Hebrew Society of the Deaf featured the first Orthodox-oriented convention in 1992. With the success of two Shabbatons in 1991, the NCJD board endorsed the continuity of this program. For the first time, NCJD members traveled outside the United States for a convention in 1994, with the Toronto Jewish Association of the Deaf hosting the 19th Biennial Convention. Members of Chicago’s Congregation Bene Shalom planned the Convention in 1996 and gave it an international theme, Chicago 1996: Where East Meets West. In 1990, the Board of the National Congress of Jewish Deaf had begun exploring ways to secure nonprofit status for the organization. This exploration led to the realization that the most effective way to achieve this goal would be to start a new organization. In 1992, the board and the members of the National Congress of Jewish Deaf decided that the name for the new organization would be the Jewish Deaf Congress, Inc. Shortly thereafter, the Jewish Deaf Congress, Inc. was created and incorporated under the Nonprofit Corporation Laws of Wyoming. The elected officers of the NCJD became the first officers of the Jewish Deaf Congress, Inc. For six years the NCJD and JDC existed side-by-side, working together to further the missions of both organizations, which were remarkably similar: to provide religious, educational, and cultural experiences for persons who are deaf or hard of hearing. During the Chicago Convention of 1996, the membership of the NCJD voted to officially recognize the Jewish Deaf Congress, Inc., as the organization serving persons who are Jewish and deaf or hard of hearing. While the by laws of the two organizations were different, and although the NCJD no longer existed in name, the spirit of the NCJD founders and its heritage of forty years were subsumed into the Jewish Deaf Congress, Inc. In 1997, the Board of the Jewish Deaf Congress began soliciting ideas for a logo that would reflect the organization and the spirit of Judaism. The Board elected to change the name of the biennial meeting from Convention to Conference. In addition, the Board agreed to change the biennial meetings to odd-number years.