Some 800 Israeli youths attending the Zionist Youth Congress here, were urged to engage in public and social service in addition to their military service which is compulsory.
President Yitzhak Navon, addressing the gathering yesterday, called on young Israelis to volunteer for the security forces and to help youths in poverty stricken areas. “There are presently thousands of youth who do not study or work and may constitute a reserve, a bait for criminals and drug dealers to take advantage of them,” Navon said.
Arye Zimuki, chairman of the Zionist Council which organized the one-day Congress, said one of its purposes was to announce a new plan for one year of public service for Israeli youths prior to military service. Other goals include the establishment of contacts between Israeli youth and Jewish youth in the diaspora; furthering Zionist education in Israel; breaking down barriers between communities in Israel, and encouraging the immigration of Jewish youth from abroad.
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