Jacobson Says U.S. Jews Have a Right to Express Their View on the ‘who is a Jew’ Issue

Charlotte Jacob-son, chairman of the American Section of the World Zionist Organization, told some 3,000 delegates and guests attending the 67th annual convention of Had-

assah at the Hilton Hotel here yesterday, that American Jews “have the right to express” their view on the controversial “Who is a Jew” amendment to the Law of Return which Premier Menachem Begin promised his Aguda Israel coalition partner he would act on. She noted that more than 50 percent of American Jews are members of the Conservative and Reform movements and, therefore the amendment as demanded by the Aguda concerns them directly.

But, Mrs. Jacobson said, “we must not let even this issue take away our support for Israel,” declaring that American Jewry’s support for the Jewish State is beyond “the issue of the moment.” She congratulated the new government in Israel, adding: “We (American Jews) respect any democratic government that was elected by the people of Israel.”

Leonard Davis, director of research and information of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) in Washington, called on the members of Hadassah to join in a “citizen action” to stop the sale of AWACS aircraft to Saudi Arabia. He said that while Senators and Congressmen are presently on vacation, “We (American Jews) cannot take a vacation now.” He urged the gathering to draw the attention of their elected representatives to the danger of recognizing the Palestine Liberation Organization to Israel’s security and to U.S. interests.

Another speaker at the meeting, Yehuda Hellman, executive director of the Conference of Presidents of Major American Jewish Organizations, said that the recent cease-fire that ended hostilities across the Israel-Lebanon border was agreed to by Yasir Arafat, leader of the PLO, because he “needed it.”

“It was not an act of generosity on his part,” Hellman claimed, contending that the cease-fire saved the terrorist organization from complete destruction.

NEW TYPE OF YOUNG IMMIGRANTS

The Hadassah convention, which opened here Sunday, expressed an emotional farewell later in the day to Dr. Kalman Mann, who for 30 years led the Hadassah Medical Organization in Israel, and has now retired.

In another session, Sylvia Doppelt, national youth aliya chairman, reported to the convention that her department, which cares for a wide variety of immigrant children from around the world, “is now receiving a new type of child from the Third World, such as it has never encountered be-fore.”

Most of these new children, she said, “are either orphans or have come without their parents. Hardly any speak a language other than that of their own country. None reads, writes or calculates.”

Mrs. Doppelt reported that this year, Hadassah raised $2.7 million toward the care, education and training of 19,000 children in 315 residential and day facilities. She said: “In one year we have made it possible to increase the number of pedagogic centers from 25 to 40 so that teachers and counsellors throughout the system have expert guidance available.”