Leon Dulzin, chairman of the Jewish Agency and World Zionist Organization Executives, said that Israel as a nation and as a people is characterized by its dual military and moral strength. He pointed out to some 1,400 delegates and guests attending the B’nai B’rith international convention here last week that, while “following the Yom Kippur War the Israelis protested a failure in security, this time (following the war in Lebanon) they were protesting on a moral issue. As we have witnessed, the passionate intensity of the present protest was far greater than that in regard to their own security.”
This proves, Dulzin continued, “that the prophetic heritage and ethos of Israel and its people is alive and well. It proves the vitality and the deep sense of justice in the Jewish State. It proves the fervent regard in Israel for human life and dignity. In these matters, all of Israel is united, as demonstrated by the government’s decision to establish its commission of inquiry” to investigate the massacre of Palestinian civilians in two camps in west Beirut by Christian Phalangists.
TAKES ISSUE WITH BRONFMAN
Dulzin, in his address, took strong issue with a statement made by Edgar Bronfman, president of the World Jewish Congress, at an earlier session of the convention. Bronfman, in referring to the need to resolve the Palestinian problem in a way “that clearly provides for Israel’s security along with the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people,” said that President Reagan’s Middle East peace proposals “sought to unlock and enhance the Camp David peace process.”
Bronfman followed this up by stating: “Total rejectionism, whether it comes from the Arabs in Fez or the Israelis in Jerusalem, must be regarded as opening bargaining positions in a renewed set of progressive negotiations.”
Dulzin rejected Bronfman’s equation of Jerusalem’s and Fez’s rejectionists. He characterized this equation as “not only on offense to Israel, but an insult to the dignity and honor of the Jewish people.” Dulzin emphasized: “I can only say he was ill-advised. But this is Mr. Bronfman’s right. However, he had no right and no authority to say what he did on behalf of the World Jewish Congress.”
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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.
