Prof. Yigael Yadin, leader of the Democratic Movement for Change, Israel’s third largest party in the Knesset, assured American Jews tonight that his new party was united with the government of Premier Menachem Begin in seeking a just and lasting settlement of the Arab-Israel conflict. This assurance came in his address to 1500 persons, including nine Nobel Laureates, at the 32nd Annual Weizmann Dinner sponsored by the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute, at the New York Hilton Hotel.
“Let no one, be he friend or fore, be deluded into thinking political diversity, such as represented by my party and the party leading the movement, will result in strife and political upheaval,” Yadin declared. “Nothing can be further from the truth. The history of the Zionist movement and the actions of the various political forces in the State of Israel is our best assurance that so-called ‘political upheaval’ always results in the strengthening of Israel internally while maintaining a unified front externally.”
It was the first official appearance in this country by Israel’s leading archaeologist and former Chief of staff of its army, since his party won 15 seats in the Knesset in last May’s election.
Although philosophical differences between himself and Begin have prevented him from accepting several of the Cabinet posts offered to his party, he nevertheless affirmed that the DMC and the government were united on certain basic issues relating to Israel’s relationships with her Arab neighbors.
INTERNAL PROBLEMS NOTED
Speaking of internal problems that Israel’s political parties must join in solving, Yadin called attention to Dr. Chaim Weizmann’s own perspectives on this same matter: “Our (Israel’s) security will, to a great extent, depend not only on the armies and navies which we can create, but on the internal moral stability of the country, which, in turn, will influence its external political stability.
This means that citizenship must transcend party interests,” Yadin noted. “It follows from this that our other urgent priorities call for our parties to create a democratic framework that will improve the election system in Israel and thus return government to the people. This will require the democratization of our political parties, granting the rank and file a greater voice in the decision-making processes.”
Political parties, he added, “will have to make the finding of solutions for our social problems the notion’s number one priority, regardless of ideologies. Furthermore, we must require of the government greater measures emphasizing and encouraging the production of goods and services for export purposes–economic policy which also must be supported by the utmost efforts on the part of business, industry and labor.”
Yadin warned that the continuing disparity between imports over exports was a deterrent to Israel’s economic development and social progress. (These balanced payment deficits amounted to $4, 050, 000 in 1975; $3, 268, 000 in 1976 and a projected $3, 490, 000 in 1977, according to figures released at the dinner.)
The dinner guests also paid tribute to Meyer W. Weisgal, chancellor and architect of the Weizmann. Institute of Science, in Rehovoth, who died Sept. 29 at the age of 83. He was buried in a small grove adjacent to the home of Weizmann on the campus at Rehovot early this month.
TRIBUTE TO WEISGAL
Soul Bellow, 1976 Nobel Larueate for Literature, and a personal friend of Weisgal, in his tribute, said: “The famous Institute at Rehovot, one of the world’s greatest centers of scientific research, bears the name of its founder, Chaim Weizmann, the first President of Israel, but it was the child of Meyer Weisgal. It was he who was the planner, the builder, the fund-raiser, the organizer and the directing spirit of this place.”
Israel’s President, Ephraim Katzir, cabled his condolences to the committee’s officers and their guests. In his cable, read by Morris L. Levinson, board chairman of the American Committee, Katzir said, in part: “The world, without Meyer Weisgal is a poorer place, and surely Israel is destitute. To carry his vision forward is the tribute we must pay.” Homage was also paid by the honorary chairman of the American Committee for the Weizmann Institute, Abraham Feinberg.
The annual medallion for “Distinguished Service to Science, Israel and the Jewish People” was presented to Mrs. Abraham Jaglom and family in tribute to the late Abraham Jaglom, New York business and philanthropic leader. Bearing his name is the Institute for Biomedical Research just dedicated on the Institute campus in Israel, which will be devoted to the development of new methods and on improving older techniques for producing the substances necessary for treating disease–hormones, antibiotic drugs, vaccines and essential enzymes.
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.
