“The new recognition in Israel and elsewhere that Torah is the wave of the future for Jews paves the way for Orthodox Jewry to broaden its influence on Jewish life the world over,” Rabbi Pinchos Menachem Alter, chairman of Agudath Israel in Israel, told 3000 delegates attending the Agudath Israel 55th national convention at the Sheraton-Deauville Hotel.
Alter, who is also a member of the Moetzes Gedolei HaTorah (Council of Torah Sages) in Israel, alluded to Agudath Israel’s participation in Premier Menachem Begin’s government coalition, when he said: “Never before has Torah Jewry in Israel faced such opportunity to thrive spiritually because of a new climate of goodwill.”
A status report on the agreement between Begin and Agudath Israel five months after it led to a coalition for the Likud, was made public for the first time by Rabbi Menachem Porush, Agudath Israel Knesset deputy and chairman of the Knesset Committee on Labor and Social Betterment. He noted that the demands for rights for Orthodox Jews were “systematically being met by the Begin administration.”
Reading from a dossier of documents, Porush cited such previous controversies as autopsies, work on the Sabbath, and conscription of religious girls into the armed forces, as examples of problems nearing solution, The veteran Orthodox leader continued: “Despite its preoccupation with security and the economy, the government has not abandoned the religious agenda.”
In a message to the convention, Begin stated: “I wish to inform you dear friends and teachers that the collaboration with your colleagues in Eretz Yisrael is genuine and hearty. It is self understood that the coalition agreement will be observed in language and spirit, please God.”
AMERICAN JEWISH LEADERSHIP RAPPED
In his keynote address, Rabbi Moshe Sherer, executive president of Agudath Israel of America, criticized the American Jewish leadership “for lagging behind their Israeli counterparts in recognizing the religious ingredient of the needs of the Jewish masses.” He cited the “snail’s pace” of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies in meeting its responsibilities towards Jewish education.
Sherer charged that although there are many who now are slowly recognizing the value of Jewish education, “it is inconceivable that soaring assimilation through intermarriage will wait for creeping decision making; every day’s delay in financially bolstering the yeshivos and day schools spells the spiritual death of thousands of more Jews.” The world renowned Torah scholar, Rabbi Moshe Feinstein, called on Agudath Israel “to widen its focus by reaching out to the uncommitted masses through programs of Torah study and spiritually enriched Jewish consciousness raising.”
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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.
