The general debate at the 24th World Zionist Congress resumed here today after the delegates returned from visiting settlements in the Negev where they watched young immigrants tilling the land and patrolling the border. At a recently established settlement, people by young veterans of army service, the commander of the Negev district described the life and activities of the pioneers in redeeming the wilderness and in protecting the security of the nation.
Dr. Joseph Schechtman, American Revisionist leader, complained that the Zionist movement could never develop into a powerful popular movement while it remained an “auxiliary organization,” although he did admit the need for the financial and political help it mobilized for Israel. Asserting that the Congress was not truly representative, he demanded that “every Jew who identifies himself with Zionism should have the right to vote on Zionist issues.”
Zalman Shazar, Mapai member of the World Zionist executive, called for the Congress to undertake the “Herculean” task of “changing the existing trend in Jewish history.” He expressed concern over he “critical danger of assimilation” and expressed sorrow that the young generation of Jews is completely unaware of the great tradition and cultural treasures of the Jewish people. He charged that very little attention was being placed on Jewish education in the United States, although some effort had been made recently to improve the situation.
Meir Grossman, General Zionist member of the executive, advocated separation between Israel and the Zionist movement, but close cooperation. The state, he said, could not ask the Jews outside Israel for financial support and immigrants without allowing them to participate in internal decisions. He called for increased efforts to attract middle class immigrants to Israel.
The plight of 300,000 North African Jews was described to the Congress by delegates from North Africa who demanded that a special department for North African problems be established in the Zionist Organization. Borgen Jouro, a Revisionist from Tunisia, asserted, that the Jewish population was imperilled and that immigration to Israel must be speeded up.
The Congress leadership invited the Poale Agudas Israel to send a delegation to observe at the Congress. The invitation was accepted and a delegation headed by Benjamin Mintz is present. The invitation was extended because although the Poale Agudah is not a Zionist group, it cooperates in immigration, colonization and absorption.
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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.
