Ivan J. Novick, a Pittsburgh businessman, was elected president of the Zionist Organization of America at the closing banquet of the ZOA’s 8lst national convention here last night. He succeeded Rabbi Joseph P. Sternstein. In a brief acceptance speech, Novick declared that “Now is the time for the Jewish people to close ranks.”
He said, “We must involve hundreds of thousands of Jews who hold concern for Israel and turn that concern into personal involvement. This, as I see it, is the challenge to the ZOA.” Novick noted that while he has “long supported many vital Jewish causes and will continue to do so, my Zionist heritage and my personal convictions beckon me to assume a post where I can best work diligently for the security and integrity of the Jewish people and for Israel.”
Novick was born in Pittsburgh and was educated at the University of Pittsburgh, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and Johns Hopkins University. He holds degrees in political science and economics. His business activities are in the field of real estate development and management and he has served on the boards of directors of a number of large corporations.
Novick moved to national prominence in the ZOA through the Pittsburgh district which he served as president. He also served as president of the Tri-State Region of the ZOA, which embraces western New York, central and western Pennsylvania and eastern Ohio. He was later elected chairman of the ZOA’s national executive committee.
Novick has also served as a member of the National Cabinet of the United Jewish Appeal and on the Board of Governors of the American Technion Society. Locally, he has been president of the Congregation Rodeph Shalom Brotherhood and Junior Congregation and has served on the board of the Jewish Home and Hospital for the Aged.
At an earlier session, Yehuda Blum, Israel’s Ambassador to the United Nations, warned that “the tyrannous majority coalition at the United Nations may be plotting fresh attacks against Israel and Zionism,” during the General Assembly which opens Sept.19. He added, however, that Israel’s UN delegation “will speak out loud and clear not only on behalf of Israel but on behalf of the entire House of Israel, and in fact we all shall emerge a stronger, more unified people, banded by the indivisible concept of Judaism, Zionism and Israel.” Israel and the Palestinian question will figure prominently on the Assembly’s agenda.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
