Negotiations are now going on between the Jewish Agency and fund-raising organizations in the United States to ensure participation of American Jewish leaders in determining the spending of funds raised in this country for Israel, Dr. Nahum Goldmann, chairman of the Jewish Agency, revealed at a press conference here today.
The negotiations, he said, may conclude this month, following which a public statement will be issued. He emphasized that the Jewish Agency had long sought such participation. He said that the tax exemption status of the United Jewish Appeal was not in danger.
Dr. Goldmann made it clear that the Jewish Agency had informed the various parties in Israel which receive funds from the Agency on condition that they conduct no fund-raising campaigns of their own in the United States, that after 1960 the Agency would no longer be bound by this arrangement. The final decision, he said, would be made by the World Zionist Congress which will convene in Jerusalem at the end of this year.
The Jewish Agency leader explained that the allocations to the political parties in Israel were not for political activities but for projects in settlements and for absorption of immigrants. The funds are being spent under the control of the Jewish Agency comptroller, he stressed. He said that the allocations to the parties have not been abolished for 1960, and added that the Jewish Agency would in the future be guided by the will of the United Jewish Appeal with regard to this matter.
DR. GOLDMANN REVIEWS FAR-REACHING CHANGES IN ZIONIST CONSTITUTION
Dr. Goldmann reviewed the far-reaching changes in the Constitution of the World Zionist Organization made at the last session of the Zionist Actions Committee in Jerusalem. He noted that the new Constitution, which represents a radical change in the structure of the Zionist Movement, will make it possible to enlarge the movement considerably by bringing in groups who programmatically could be part of the World Zionist Organization but who remained outside of it until now, primarily because of the specific structure of the World Zionist Organization.
The Zionist leader indicated that it will take some time to bring about this enlargement of the movement and revealed that he intended to visit Latin America within the next few weeks in order to explore certain possibilities for the enlargement of the World Zionist organization. He added that, at the same time, he would pursue his efforts to bring in new groups in other parts of the world.
He stressed that for the success of these efforts, it will be essential that the organized Zionist groups cooperate in this attempt, manifest their good will towards the new groups, and indicate their willingness to give them the necessary position and influence. He stressed that it is essential for the Zionist movement and for Israel that the World Zionist Organization represent the large majority of the Jewish people in its cooperation with Israel and serve to maintain close and permanent ties between the Jewish communities and Israel.
The World Zionist leader categorically denied all rumors and reports that he had attacked or criticized the role of the synagogue in American Jewish life. On the contrary, he said, in his address at the Actions Committee he had praised the synagogues for their increasingly constructive role and especially for their efforts not to limit their programs to purely religious functions but to expand them to include educational and cultural activities. He had stated that the synagogues are performing a major service in strengthening and deepening Jewish life in America and expressed the hope that they will continue to enlarge and deepen their activities.
At the same time, Dr. Goldmann criticized some religious groups for their attempts to represent their organizations as the foremost spokesmen of American Jewry in matters which have no direct connection with religious issues such as, for example, the fate of Jewish communities in Russia or in Morocco. He warned against a tendency to base the representation of American Jewry exclusively on religious foundations and stated that Judaism was much more than only a religion or a church.
NEED FOR AN OVERALL REPRESENTATIVE BODY OF U.S. JEWRY STRESSED
“The spokesmen and representative bodies of American Jewry must represent all parts of American Jewish life, ” Dr. Goldmann stated. “Purely religious organizations, having a wide field of responsibility in the religious, cultural and educational sphere, should limit themselves to this legitimate areas of concern and not claim exclusive or primary rights as the overall spokesman and representative of American Jewry.”
In this connection, Dr. Goldmann stressed the need for an overall representative body of American Jewry. He stated that the dissolution of the American Jewish Conference was one of the unforgivable sins in the history of American Jewry for which all participants in the Conference must be held responsible.
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.
