The Jewish people have never been as united as they are today, Premier David Ben Gurion said last night when he addressed the World Conference of Jewish Youth. The Premier remained to participate in the parley discussions.
He told the conference that the delegates from abroad would leave Israel carrying something permanent with them. He predicted that many would return to help build the State.
Mr. Ben Gurion replied spiritedly to criticisms voiced by delegates of Israeli youth and of the failure of Israel’s educators to provide religious inspiration. Israel’s youth, said the Premier, was, in the main, exemplary. He argued that for two centuries, religion’s role in Jewish life had lessened.
Former Premier Moshe Sharett told the conference that while it is more difficult today to be a Jew, “it is more interesting.” He urged immigration of youth not in the spirit of doing good for the community but from the motive of individual self-need. “Overseas youth,” he said, “needs Israel more than Israel needs him.”
Yigal Alon, former Palmach commander, called for unreserved identification with the Jewish people with Hebrew as the common language and Israel as the center of Jewish life.
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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.
