Dr. Nahum Goldmann said here last night that he thoroughly disagreed with those who see the greatness of the Jewish people only in the deeds of the Macabbees and Bar Kochba. This, he said was not only historically untrue but an offense to the dignity of diaspora Jews. Dr. Goldman, president of the World Jewish Congress, addressed the 16th Plenary Assembly of the Canadian Jewish Congress. He shared the platform with Dr. Joseph Burg, Minister of Interior of Israel and Dr. Theodor Meron, Israel’s Ambassador to Canada.
Dr. Goldmann also criticized those in Israel who would stifle criticism. He said they reminded him of the Lemberg Jew who told his inquiring son, “Keep quiet and admire.” He said the same thing was once told him by former Premier David Ben-Gurion. He said Israel’s future lies in security and peace with its Arab neighbors. He declined to elaborate when questioned further by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency correspondent.
Dr. Goldmann eulogized the late Sam Bronfman, for many years president of the CJC and its honorary president at the time of his death earlier this year. He said that Bronfman understood what many people in America fail to understand, that “one single loyalty is typical Nazi ideology and that Jews have to live with many loyalties.” Dr. Burg praised the CJC for “speaking with a single voice on the great problems confronting Israel and diaspora Jews.”
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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.
