Israeli emissaries abroad lack sufficient knowledge of contemporary Jewish life in countries outside of Israel, it was charged today at a press conference arranged by the Hebrew University’s Institute of Contemporary Jewry.
Israel Finance Minister Levi Eshkol, addressing the conference, stressed the necessity to equip Israeli representatives abroad with comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the Jewish communities in the Diaspora.
S.Z. Shazar, member of the Jewish Agency executive, said: “Never before have our emissaries –whether ambassadors, consuls, commercial representatives, fund raisers or educators–been as lacking in knowledge about conditions among the Jews in the world as now. In the past two decades, the changes in Jewish life have been so vast and revolutionary, but only a few of our emissaries have more than a hazy idea about the actual conditions. “
The Institute, it was announced, has inaugurated a one-month course of special instruction for foreign emissaries, to help inform them about the conditions among Jews abroad. The institute was established a year ago with the Government of Israel and the Jewish Agency sharing the cost.
Binyamin Mazar, president of Hebrew University, announced that Dr, Moshe Davis, head of the Institute, will soon leave for Mexico, Argentina, Britain, and several countries on the European continent to study the Jewish communities in those areas and establish contacts with social scientists and other authorities on contemporary Judaism.
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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.
