In anticipation of a possible major easing of Middle East tensions in the near future, leading Israeli and American scholars will be meeting March 20 at an all-day symposium at 515 Park Avenue to evaluate political and social changes which will confront Israel as it moves into an era where it will have to fonfront political, social and economic problems in a setting of non-onflict, rather than in an armed camp.
“Unfortunately nearly 30 years of war and near conflagration have prevented Israel from preparing for any normalization,” said Prof. Melvin I. Urofsky of Virginia Commonwealth University and chairman of the Zionist Academic Council (an arm of the American Zionist Federation) which is sponsoring the event in cooperation with the Herzl Institute.
Mrs. Faye Schenk, AZF president, focussing on the reasons for the symposium, said: “Israel and her Arab neighbors now have a greater chance of achieving a lasting peace than ever before. Should this peace come about in the near future, serious social and political challenges will confront Israeli society as it shifts to new priorities. New ideological and social problems can surface with unprecedented fury once defense concerns diminish. And Israel has not adequately prepared herself to confront these challenges.”
Furthermore Mrs. Schenk observed,” the overwhelming concern of diaspora Jewry– which in many cases has been based on a garrison in age of the Jewish State-can easily wane once peace is achieved much to the material detriment of Israel and the spiritual detriment of world jewry. In this light, it is necessary to begin exploratory talks among distinguished American and Israeli intellectuals concerning these possibilities and the means whereby to cope with them.”
Those participating in the symposium entitled “Toward the Year 2000: Israel, Zionism and the Jewish People,” will be; Prof. Uriel Tal of Tel Aviv University currently lecturing at the University of Pennsylvanis; Prof. Shlomo Aronson of Hebrew University currently on sabbatical at the Brookings Institute; Rabbi Chales Sheer Columbia University Law School; Milton Himmelfarbof Commentary magazine; Arthur Hertzberg, American Jewish Congress president; and Urofsky.
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