A Knesset member’s assertion that there is no such thing as a “Jewish nation” outside of Israel stirred a violent reaction among 150 Jewish students from 20 countries attending a seminar at Kiljava today. The statement was made by Uri Avneri, who represents the tiny Haolam Hazeh faction in Israel’s parliament.
The seminar which had as its theme “an ideology for the Jewish people” was organized by the World Union of Jewish Students. It attracted delegates from most Western European countries and from Israel and Latin America. Mr. Avneri, who edits and publishes the Israeli magazine Haolam Hazeh, has been described as the Knesset’s “infant terrible.” The subject of his discourse at the seminar was “Israel without Zionists.” Mr. Avneri is opposed to most Government policies and believes that Israel would be better off without Zionist ties to Jews abroad. Despite the outrage voiced by those who disagreed with him, organizers of the seminar said his appearance was beneficial if only because he generated such resistance to his ideas. Other speakers were Rabbi Norman Lamm who spoke on religious Zionism and the Neturei Karta and Mordechai Bar-On who represented the Jewish Agency.
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.
