Pincus Says Those Attacking Jewish Values Use Zionism As ‘code Word’ for Jew

Louis A. Pincus, Chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israel, charged yesterday that Zionism was being used as a “code word” for those who wished to attack Jews and Jewish values but did not want to use the word “Jew.” Addressing leaders of 25 major Jewish organizations gathered at the Barbizon Plaza Hotel for the opening meeting of the American Zionist Federation’s drive for one million members. Pincus said “Zionism is being used as a denigrating term by our enemies–Arabs, communists and anti-Semites.” He warned that Zionism was being used to split “Jew from Jew” and “Jew from Israel.” What can American Jews do to counter this attack, Pincus asked. And he answered, “He can stand up and proudly say ‘Yes, I am a Zionist.’ ” He cautioned that the upsurge of Jewish solidarity with Israel that followed the Six-Day War cannot be taken for granted, and added that keeping that feeling of solidarity is a “fight that has to be fought every day over and over again.”

Touching on the Middle East, Pincus warned the Rogers plan, which calls for territorial rectifications by Israel, is not dead, but is not acceptable to Israel. He commented that while the interests of Israel and America coincide today, they differed not too long ago and may differ again in the future. Pincus asked the American Jewish community to “reaffirm your Zionism in the 70’s as an expression of affirmation with Israel as outlined in the new ‘Jerusalem Program.'” Avraham Schenker, head of the Information and Organization Department of the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem, told the delegates the World Zionist Federation is conducting membership drives in 38 countries and added that Jews throughout the world are waiting to see if the members of the world’s largest Jewish community is willing to “stand up and be counted.” Israel’s Premier Golda Meir, in a message to the AZF conference, hailed the membership drive and added that “to the extent to which the Zionist movement re-invigorates your own community, it will have contributed towards a reawakening and reinvigoration in Israel as well.”