Meet a Nice Jewish Boy/Girl -- or -- Help Business in Israel

Fired of lighting the Sabbath candles alone? Too busy to find the perfect Jewish boy/girl to bring home to Momma?

Let Jewish Introductions help. For a small fee, they'll introduce you to someone of the opposite sex who shares you predicament.

Jewish Introductions was founded three years ago to aid academically minded Jews who don't have time to socialize, said Sally W. Bock, director of the organization. "Most of a [Jewish] student's time is spent in a science lab," she explained.

For only $25, Bock and her assistant yentas will interview you and present you with a prospective mate. Jewish Introductions refunds $10 of the original fee if the user completes an evaluation of their service, not the date. Bock said that the organization, which is sponsored by the Hillel Council of Greater Boston, instituted the refund for constant feedback.

Oy Gevalt, you say? Harvard Hillel agreed, Bock said, and refused to have anything to do with Jewish Introductions in its trial run three years ago. "They thought it was tacky," said Rabbi Richard Israel, the founder of Jewish Introductions.

But Harvard Hillel later relented because of overwhelming response by Boston area students. While Seth R. Hurwitz '86 said that he thought the service was a good idea, he added that he knew no one who used the service.

"Most people in Jewish Introductions are perfectly nice, perfectly normal people," Bock said, calling the service pure and wholesome.

This year the service will interview over 250 students and match them up with a student from any Boston school other than their own, in order to integrate the collegiate Jewish community. Bock will then send each consumer a description of the Adam/Eve he or she has been matched with.

That is as far as the service will go. "It is up to you to ask for the date, we just make the match," Bock said.

There has been one engagement so far, though for the most part the rejection rate is fairly high. However, Bock said, "If two students aren't completely excited we encourage them to give it a second try."

Undergraduates make up 60 per cent of the service's clientele, while the other 40 per cent are graduate students. The college students are primarily out for a good time, while the graduate students tend to be looking for a lifetime commitment, according to Bock.

The service is not exclusively Jewish, however, and has been utilized by two non-Jews to date, Bock said.

Living about 7000 miles from Israel won't keep a group of Harvard students from helping the Middle Eastern country's economy.

The Project for American-Israeli Research, Inc. (PAIR), created last summer, will offer students opportunities to do volunteer research for Israeli businesses, government offices, and academic institutions.

For businesses in Israel, PAIR is "a good use of available resources," according to Judy Morgan, a second year Harvard Business School student who plans to do a project in market research under the organization's auspices.

"There's a lot of talent here," says Morgan, adding that, using the program, Israelis "can tap into it to provide a service that they don't have enough capital to provide for themselves."

Projects range from a study on the success of Israeli products in the United States to engineering work for a fiber optics company.

The Israeli institutions will pay for student research expenses, says Tamra L. Morris, the program's executive director. She says that the New England/Israel Chamber of Commerce has also donated funds.

Oren W. Etzioni '86, who has lived in Israel, says volunteering for PAIR was a form of "individual patriotism." Etzioni says that his contribution will be to help transfer computer technology between America and Israel.

Through PAIR, Joseph Lipner, a first year Harvard Law student, says he hopes to study Israeli law, as well as trade laws between America and Israel. "I want to help out the Israeli economy by giving my resources to Israeli firms," he says.

Student volunteers can make business contacts and possibly get academic credit from the program, according to Morris. "We try to make contacts for them in Israel if they want employment or summer internships."

Along with the students' reports, Israeli sponsors will receive researchers' resumes, says Morris, adding that undergraduate volunteers can receive academic credit for research with a professor's approval and supervision.

PAIR will send a report of student findings to the corporate, government and academic sponsors, according to Morgan.

"Most people in Jewish Introductions are perfectly nice, perfectly normal, people."

--Director Sally W. Bock

"They [Harvard students] thought it was tacky."

--Rabbi Richard Israel, founder of Jewish Introductions