Two differing views, on aliya were expressed at the 72nd annual conference of the British Zionist Federation here this weekend. Yitzhak Navon, Deputy Speaker of the Knesset who delivered the keynote address, claimed that aliya was obligatory for every Zionist. Mrs. Rose Matzkin, president of Hadassah, who addressed the luncheon session, said that while aliya is the final achievement of a Zionist, “we should not write off those who don’t go to settle in Israel.”
The conference rejected by a vote of 131-84 a Herut amendment to a resolution on Soviet Jewry that demanded the proclamation of a boycott against Russia until its treatment of Jews changes.
Navon said the present infrastructure of central and local government in Israel and all other services could cater to a population of 8-9 million without strain. He claimed that aliya was more vital to Israel than any other problem demanding solution. “We are entitled to tell diaspora Zionists that aliya is a Zionist obligation and not a mere migratory phenomenon,” he said He said aliya constituted a “service of great human importance as well as Jewish and not a narrow national appeal.”
Mrs. Matzkin said of Zionists who chose not to settle in Israel, “They remain Zionists and there are vital tasks for them where they are,”
The government reportedly is considering recognizing the East Jerusalem Moslem religious court, the Shariya, as an official Judicial institution. The Justice Ministry was said to be preparing grounds for the recognition of Judgements issued by the Moslem court by all government institutions.
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.
