Premier Golda Meir of Israel received an honorary degree of Doctor of Humane Letters from Yeshiva University this morning and was visibly overwhelmed by the warm, enthusiastic welcome she received. Speaking in Hebrew to an audience of 2000, mostly young people, she told the youths in effect that the future survival of the Jewish people and Judaism was in their hands and urged them, and Jewish youth all over the world, to come to Israel and participate in its creative activities and development.
Mrs. Meir stressed that one of her greatest concerns was assimilation. “It will be a disaster, now that we have a sovereign Jewish State, if we lose part of the young Jewish generation.” she said. The old generations that sacrificed their lives for Jewishness believed that “you, the youth, would not forget, would not run away from your Jewishness,” Mrs. Meir declared. “The young Jewish people must know who they are. People who know who they are don’t run away.”
The degree was presented to the Premier by Dr. Samuel Belkin, president of Yeshiva University. Mrs. Meir did not conceal her emotions. Tears ran down her face as she accepted it. She received a prolonged standing ovation when she was introduced and an even longer one when she finished her remarks. For nearly 10 minutes the audience and Mrs. Meir stood, clapped rhythmically and sang, “Am Yisroel Chai”–the nation of Israel lives.
PRAISES ISRAEL’S ARMED FORCES
Mrs. Meir’s references to the Middle East situation were comparatively brief and she repeated what she has told many other audiences during her American visit. She said that Israel, did not hate its Arab neighbors but they refused to accept Israel and, therefore,”our youth must still guard our borders to assure the future of Israel and the Jewish nation.”
She voiced high praise for Israel’s armed forces. “It is not that we have better equipment,” she said, “We have better pilots and better tank men.” She said she hoped that Israel is not just a remote symbol for Jews but “a center of the Jewish people who will bind their live with the State.”
Presenting the citation, Dr. Belkin said to Mrs. Meir: “We convey through you our deepest affections for our co-religionists in the State of Israel and express the eternal hope that the Torah may come forth from Zion and the word of God from Jerusalem.” In his general remarks, Dr. Belkin expressed the hope that Mrs. Meir “will see in her lifetime the implements of war converted into plough shares and rejoice in the knowledge that Israel and her Arab neighbors will plant their vineyards and olive trees in the harmonious atmosphere of peace and tranquility.”
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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.
