In a Rosh Ha-shanah message to world Jewry, World Zionist Organization Executive chairman Yosef Almogi called for aliya as “the best and most fruitful way to exercise influence” on the ongoing development of Israeli society.
“Nobody would claim that Israel is free from defect, “Almogi wrote. But “Zionists can and should exert an influence on the shape of an Israeli society–press for the elimination of abuses, strive towards the full achievement of social justice and the embodiment of fundamental Jewish values in that society. The best and most fruitful way to exercise that influence is through a large-scale voluntary aliya from the free world. That responsibility must not be evaded by the Zionist movement.”
Reviewing prospects for the year ahead, Almogi stated: “In view of the financial power and political influence of the Arab world, Israel more than ever depends upon both the financial and moral support of world Jewry, not only to ensure Israel’s security and continued development, but to foster an understanding of the true objectives of Zionism and to prevent the erosion of general public sympathy for the Jewish State throughout the enlightened world.
“Second only to the problem of Israel’s security–and ultimately having a significant bearing upon it–is the problem of assimilation in the free world. The Zionist movement will have failed in one of its primary responsibilities if it cannot stimulate Jewish communities everywhere to provide a really adequate, Jewish education for their youth.”
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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.
