The Mapai Party today settled the issue of whether state schools should fly the Socialist red flag and whether children in the schools should sing the Socialist ” Internationale” by voting to prohibit the use of the labor flag and anthem in the schools. The vote on the issue, which less than a year ago threatened to split the government, was unofficially reported at 108 for the ban, 28 against and 22 abstentions.
The resolution which was adopted, was offered by Prof. Ben Zion Dinur, Minister of Education, to the meeting of the Mapai central council following two days of heated debate on the issue. It declared that the state schools like all other government institutions would fly only the state (blue-and-white) flag and the only anthem sung would be the national hymn, Hatikvah. Both Premier David Ben Gurion and Foreign Minister Moshe Sharett, expected to be Mr. Ben Gurion’s successor, defended the ban.
Earlier, Meir Argov, chairman of the Parliamentary Foreign Affairs and Security Committee, told the Labor Party delegates that the Mapai is interested not only in continuing the present coalition government but in extending it. Reporting on the international situation, he defended Israel’s right to develop the desert and undeveloped areas of the country. He also stated that within a month another party conference would be called, with Mr. Ben Gurion present, to discuss domestic issues.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
