Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Jewish Congress, made a strong plea today for a partnership of equality between diaspora Jewry and Israel. “The dispersion of today is the third in Jewish history and as a whole, the Jewish people has spent more time in the diaspora than it has in its own state,” Dr. Goldmann said in an address at the closing session of the conference of the World Union for Progressive Judaism here.
“The negation of the diaspora, the attempt to forget it or to denigrate it as an anomaly, is defenseless and distorts the character of Jewish existence in the past and in the present,” he said. “It is essential to find a constructive relationship between Israel and the diaspora,” Dr. Goldmann added.
He said the solution would have to be based on the principles of full solidarity and responsibility of both parts of the Jewish people for one another and for the people as a whole. “The diaspora will have to respect Israel as a sovereign state and Israel must respect the autonomy of the golah; while both will have the right and the duty to advise one another and to discuss common problems, they will have to leave the decisions to each of the two parts,” Dr. Goldmann said.
Dr. Maurice Eisendrath was elected president of the World Union for Progressive Judaism. Rabbi Richard Hirsch is the new executive director of the organization that plans to move its headquarters to Jerusalem.
The annual meeting of the Memorial Foundation for Jewish Culture opened here last night. It will continue through Thursday evening. The Memorial Foundation meeting was preceded by the annual meeting of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany of which Dr. Goldmann is chairman. He reviewed the Claims Conference’s activities over the past 20 years. A report was submitted by Dr. Joseph J. Schwartz, treasurer.
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.
