Need to Close Ranks in Face of Threats Also Tends to Soften Generation Gap

There is no generation gap in Israel primarily because of the need for all Israelis to close ranks in the face of threats to their survival, a review by the American Jewish Committee asserts. The report, issued here today, was compiled by Dr. M. Bernard Resnikoff, director of the Jerusalem office of the American Jewish Committee. The dangers that all Israelis face, because of their security situation, forges a strong bond of national unity, the report declares. “The prevailing feeling is that Israeli society cannot afford the luxury of protest demonstrations, ‘dropping out’ or ‘turning on.” As long as the country is encircled by hostile neighbors and must marshal all of its available resources, both human and material, in a continuing struggle for existence, it is unlikely that any deep division will develop between the younger and older generations.” Contrary to the situation in this country, accusations of lack of idealism are made by old-timers in Israel against the younger generation, Dr. Resnikoff continues. “The fact that the older generation in Israel is composed of people who were great revolutionaries in their youth and who because of historical circumstances surrounding Israel’s existence have clung to their idealism, makes the confrontation between the generations some what unique.”

Turning to other focusses of youth unrest in some parts of the world, such as the military-industrial complex and resentment of the “establishment,” the report declares that much of this terminology “is meaningless in the Israeli context.” “This does not mean, however, that the young generation sees eye-to-eye with the old-timers on everything, and that there are no differences in norms and styles. In virtually all of the political parties, in government offices, in universities, and elsewhere, one can distinguish between the ‘old guard’ and the ‘young Turks,’ ” Dr. Resnikoff observed. The latter call for re-evaluation of long-accepted doctrines, introduction of new concepts and methods and procedures.