Jerusalem Women’s Seminar

A unique and for-reaching educational program encompassing a three-way dialogue was announced by Jacques Torczyner and Ivan Novick, presidents of the World Union of General Zionists and the Zionist Organization of America, respectively. According to Novick and Torczyner, the program, called the “Jerusalem Women’s Seminar,” will be a “direct and positive contribution to the Middle East peace process and a significant new direction in the area of public relations.”

The objective of the seminar is to build a strong base of support among women of influence in all spheres of life and representing all religious de nominations, as well as to enhance and encourage the process of peace now underway. The North American women leaders, predominantly Christian, from the United States, and from Canada and Mexico, will be finked with their Jewish, Christian and Moslem counterparts in Israel for a week of traveling discussions, briefings and cultural exchange.

The program will stress the establishment of working relationships and continuing friendship between participants, and particular attention will focus on Israeli achievements in the area of social services — education, medicine, child care and agricultural development. The long-range goal of the seminar will be the projection of a positive image of Israel’s strength and purpose in the Middle East region.

Participants in the seminar will consist of recognized leaders in their field, including academia, business, communications, politics, entertainment, public administration, religion, voluntary and professional organizations, etc. The groups will be limited in number and the program will be tailored to the needs and interests of the individual participants.

BASIS FOR THE DIALOGUE

This program was conceived by Elaine Dubow of Montreal, and Phyllis Kaminsky of Johnstown, Pa. Both are young Jewish women who have been involved in various projects in the United States, Canada and Israel. They will have primary responsibility for its implementation beginning Jan. I, 1980, with the target date for the first group of North American women participants scheduled for Apr. 15, 1980.

When asked how and why they originated the concept of a women’s dialogue in Jerusalem, they expressed their belief that “the long and tragic dialogue between the Jewish people and the rest of humanity had reached a special level of intensity, a crucial turning point.”

They pointed to the “acknowledged need to counteract the current negative image of Israel, its leaders and its people, amongst her traditional supporters, “as their primary motivation for this program. They contended that respected women leaders can help the troubled Middle East region turn the public opinion tide in a positive direction with “ultimate benefits for all the people of the world.”

Dubow said she believes that this program will be successful because “it represents real dialogue and communication in its broadest sense and the opportunity to explore avenues of humanitarian cooperation from a woman’s perspective — the cultural and social perspective as opposed to the political and military deliberations.”

Dubow is a founding member of the Women’s Campaign for Soviet Jewry. She has worked in the Israeli Foreign Office and visited the Soviet Union in May 1978. She is the co-author of “They Came To Stay,” a book about the Soviet Jewish experience in Israel.

Kaminsky has been an international media consultant for major Jewish organizations, specifically the United Jewish Appeal and Zionist Organization of America, since 1970. Both women went to Egypt in June 1979 to familiarize themselves with the women’s role in a Moslem society.