Dr. Burg Tells Religious Zionists Arabs Better off in Israel Than in Arab Countries

Dr. Yosef Burg of Israel’s National Religious Party, Interior Minister since last year, denounced Arab charges that Israel is undemocratic. “The Arabs of Israel, even in the occupied territories, are enjoying a much higher standard of living than their brethren in neighboring Arab countries,” he told the more than 500 delegates attending the five-day convention of the Religious Zionist of America. “Christian and Arab citizens of Israel have complete religious freedom and cultural autonomy in their varied spiritual practices,” declared Dr. Burg, an Orthodox rabbi. “Moslems have their own religious courts, recognized by the government, with exclusive jurisdiction in matters of personal status. The budget for these courts is covered by the government.” Arabic, he noted, is spoken and translated in the Knesset. “Thus,” he said, “Israel can justifiably be called a bastion of democracy,” in contrast with the “implied or actual threat of forcible repression” in “the autocratic governments of neighboring Arab lands.” To emphasize his point, Dr. Burg reported that 85 percent of the Arabs in Israel receive a public school education, compared with less than 44 percent of those in Egypt, 34 percent of those of Syria, 32 percent of those in Jordan and 30 percent of those in Iraq. “Israel therefore,” he declared, “observes more than ample religious tolerance.” The convention, which began last Wednesday, ended today.

STATE LEGISLATURE URGED TO PASS PARENT-AID BILL; PRIVATE SCHOOLS IN FINANCIAL TROUBLE

Speaking at an earlier session of the RZA convention, Moses I. Feuerstein, chairman of the executive board of Torah Umesorah, called on the State Legislature to pass the nonpartisan Speno-Lerner Parent-Aid bill, which would provide grants of $50 to $250 for the tuition of pupils in private schools. Feuerstein, who was convention chairman, deplored that “the children attending these non-public schools are as precious to our society as those who attend public schools.” He told the delegates that “It is unconscionable to discriminate against them, especially since most private schools are presently undergoing serious financial troubles which threaten their very existence.” He added; “In these days of moral anarchy it is sheer recklessness to deprive these institutions of learning which impart a strong commitment to moral values… It is no more than fair that parents who pay taxes should be helped in meeting their private-school costs.”

Referring specifically to Jewish education, Feuerstein said there were 378 Hebrew dayschools in 31 states and 44 in Canada, with at least one in all but one Jewish community of 7,500 or more persons. New York State, he said, accounted for 50 percent of the nation’s Hebrew dayschools and two-thirds of their pupils. Praising Gov. Nelson A. Rockefeller’s “profound appreciation” of these schools’ need, Feuerstein asked him to “take the initiative” on legislation to aid them. “Jewish education is the foundation of Jewish survival,” he declared. “It alone can create a self-respecting Jewish community rooted in a noble heritage and dedicated to the moral life .” Rabbi Bernard L. Berzon of Brooklyn N.Y., president of the (Orthodox) Rabbinical Council of America, advised the convention delegates that more cooperation was needed between the religious and non-religious elements in Israel. “All the citizens of Israel,” he said, “have a solemn obligation, irrespective of their outlook on religion, to strive for the maximum achievement of the state in the areas of economic progress, social advancement, and internal and external peace.”