Premier David Ben Gurion this week-end blamed Zionist leaders abroad for the failure of Jews to immigrate to Israel from the free democracies of the West.
Addressing a press luncheon, Mr. Ben Gurion said that the Zionist movement in the free countries had failed in its task. Immigration, he continued, is not a matter of merely preaching, but must be accomplished by leadership example. Not one Zionist abroad, he asserted, had set such an example for the Jewish masses.
Replying to a query why Israeli schools had prohibited various organized youth movement activities with the schools, the Premier said that had there been but a single pioneering movement it would have been allowed to function. But when there are eight distinct groups, he went on, chalutziut is forgotten and the activities become party rivalry.
While he is active in the leadership of the Israel Government the Premier said, he will not press for changes in the Zionist movement. But when and if he quits his government post, Mr. Ben Gurion will devote his efforts to “establish and promote a true chalutzic movement” abroad.
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.
