Local trip to visit Jewish Brazil
BETH OLSON
Staff Writer
With much attention in the Jewish media being focused on the economic situation in Latin America, an upcoming study mission will explore another side of Jewish Latin America - one rich with culture.
The Friends of Jewish Studies at Arizona State University will conduct their 2003 Study Mission to Brazil Oct. 20-30.
This is the third study mission in as many years sponsored by the Jewish Studies Program and led by ASU faculty.
The first trip, led by Jack Kugelmass, director of the ASU Jewish Studies Program, traveled to Poland, visiting the Auschwitz Museum, Galicia, Warsaw and Berlin.
"In Krakow we attended the Jewish Cultural Festival, probably the best such festival in all of Europe, plus we met with the staff of the Auschwitz Museum, including one of its first directors," recalls Kugelmass.
Last year the group visited Buenos Aires, Argentina, in a trip led by David Foster, regents professor of Spanish, interdisciplinary studies and women's studies at ASU.
"David is a leading authority of Latin American literature and urban culture," says Kugelmass.
Foster will also lead this year's trip to Brazil - a country with a Jewish population of 120,000.
"(Foster) did a wonderful job for us in Buenos Aires - most of those attending would go back there at the first opportunity and not just because of the city, which is fabulous, but also because of David's way of providing us with entry into the city's culture and fascinating citizenry," says Kugelmass. "So, we're all looking forward to what he's planning for us in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro and Curitiba."
Myra Dinnerstein of Tucson participated in last year's trip to Argentina and plans to attend the mission to Brazil. She says she enjoyed meeting with experts in Jewish history and culture, including a historian, two novelists, a political scientist and a psychoanalyst.
"The chance to talk to these people and Jews at other stops on our visit made the trip much more than a typical sightseeing trip. It made it possible to find out about the country from those who lived there. This added a wonderful dimension to the trip."
While Dinnerstein says she enjoyed the food and attending cultural events, she was also touched by the plight of the Latin American Jews.
"I learned firsthand about the incredible poverty of many Jews and what the economic and political situation has done to them. Although I knew the country was in bad economic straits, talking to knowledgeable Jews about the plight of the Jews made it very real and sad," she recalls.
Kugelmass hopes the study mission will encourage participants to further their education through reading or taking university courses.
"The missions are an extension of the Jewish Studies Program's larger mission to provide educational and cultural opportunities to the Greater Phoenix community - both students and those well along in their careers or beyond," he says.
Cost of the mission is $3,500 per person, double occupancy, which includes air and ground transportation, hotel, entrance fees and some meals. For information, or to request an application form, contact the Jewish Studies Program at 480-727-6906, or visit www.asu.edu/clas/jewishstudies.
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