As a former trustee of JPS, I applaud the move.  JPS played an
invaluable role in the development of the American Jewish community
by sponsoring and promoting both the translation of classic texts and
encouraging critical research and literature when no one else was
doing so.  It is a tribute to JPS that their success rendered them an
anachronism.

Once the Jewish community came into its own and there were many for
profit Jewish publishers and mainstream academic institutions able
and willing to perform the role that had previously been performed by
JPS.  Jewish scholars no longer needed to turn to JPS to publish
their works when Penn, Harvard, Brown, Brill, Schocken and others
were available to them.  What justification could there be for JPS to
use charitable funds to compete with other publishers - especially
where the other publishers had better distribution and marketing
networks?   (As to those works for which there was no other
publisher, one has to question the value of the work.)

The JPS had, at one time, created monumental works of lasting
importance, the Tanakh being just one shining example.   Today the
monumental works are being produced by others - Matt's Zohar
translation, the Schottenstein Talmud, the Yerushalmi and the
Steinsaltz Talmud for example.  The academic works are being done by
academic publishers who have a greater cachet on an academic c.v.
than JPS.  The popular works are being done by either Jewish or
standard publishers and are much more widely distributed than any JPS
popular work.

As to new Jewish literature, even JPS's own, such as Chaim Potok
turned elsewhere when it came to publishing their own Jewish literature.

Let us praise the founders of JPS for their success and applaud the
current trustees for their wisdom.

Zachary L. Grayson, Esq.
Kfar Sava, Israel




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