A “revolt of youth” occurred at the convention of the Religious Zionist Organization of America which closed Sunday at Long Beach, N.Y., the Jewish Telegraphic Agency learned today. About 60 youth delegates participated in what was essentially a conflict between the established leadership of the Mizrachi-Hapoel Hamizrachi movement and its younger elements over basic reforms. Benny Ben-David, a spokesman for Noar Mizrachi, the RZA youth organization, told the JTA that the main issue was democratization of election procedures and the way the convention was run. A flyer issued by the youth faction said it had “threatened to break up the convention because very few of the delegates had been duly elected according to their constitution.” But the youngsters expressed satisfaction that they received 25 percent of the membership on convention committees. Ben-David told the JTA that at last year’s convention, youth membership on committees was “negligible,” In addition, two representatives of the youth element were elected national vice presidents.
Ben-David said another point at issue between the youth and the established leadership was the matter of priorities. The youngsters want more money for youth activities and Jewish education while the elders are concerned chiefly with raising money for Israel, Ben-David said. He said the youth revolt developed when the convention praesidium reneged on its alleged promise to allow Dov Sperling, a Russian Jewish emigre from Israel, to address the convention, Sperling, a firebrand who supports the tactics of the Jewish Defense League, is a controversial figure here and in Israel. Ben-David told the JTA that the praesidium agreed to let him speak but later backed down when the convention’s main speaker, Israel’s Orthodox Minister of Interior, Josef Burg, refused to appear on the same platform with Sperling. Ben-David said his group was confident that youth would exert greater influence at next year’s convention.
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.
