Israel Premier David Ben Gurion today made a plea for young American Jews, particularly scientists, to come to Israel to help build the state. Israel, he said, needed American “know-how.” He spoke on a nationally televised program.
Asked for his definition of Zionism, he replied that a Jew should shape his own life in his country according to his own ideals and could only do this in Israel. He said he would like to see every Jew come to Israel, but many Jews are comfortable where they are and will stay there as long as they can. Some 2,000,000 Jews cannot stay where they are, he added, and are coming to Israel at the rate of 7,000 a month.
Asked about the relationship of American Jews to Israel, Ben Gurion said he understood that many of them were comfortable where they are. His relationship with Israel was a personal decision for every American Jew. If he were one, he said, he would go to Israel. The Premier told how on a visit to America he saw a “restricted” sign and he explained that that meant property was not for sale to Jews. He said he would not accept that.
Asked about his present work, the Premier said he preferred life at Sdeh Boker because there he could realize the ideals for which he first came to Palestine. But doing political work, he said, is not so pleasant–it is a duty.
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.
