Avraham Shenker decried the “impoverishment of ideological life” in the World Zionist Movement in a speech last night to the Zionist General Council (Actions Committee) and offered a program which he said would stress Zionist ideology and culture in diaspora communities.
Shenker, who heads the WZO’s organization and information department, proposed “permanent mobile seminars” to tour Jewish communities abroad under the auspices of the local Zionist federations. He said the seminars, which would be staffed by academicians, writers and journalists from Israel and possibly from some of the larger diaspora communities, would hold lectures and lead discussions that would “restore the atmosphere of thought and philosophical discussion to our ranks.”
He contended that while most Jews abroad support, Israel in broad terms, they are ignorant of specific aspects of Israeli policy. He said it was the task of the Zionist federations to disseminate such specific-information which would help Jewish students rebut the allegations of Arabists and their supporters.
DEFENDS MAGAZINE RAPPED FOR EXTREMIST VIEWS
Shenker, a Mapam leader, replied to an allegation by Rabbi Louis Rabinowitz of the Herut movement, a former Chief Rabbi of South Africa, that the WZO’s organization and information department was dispensing views inimical to Israel. At an earlier session of the General Council meeting, Rabbi Rabinowitz claimed that the department’s organ, “Dispersion and Unity,” published articles by left-wing and Matzpen personalities that cast Israel in an unfavorable light and discouraged Jewish youth from emigrating to Israel. He specifically mentioned articles by Prof. Jacob Talmon of the Hebrew University who has been a critic of government policies.
Shenker denied that the publication was one-sided and flooded with left-wing opinion. He said its pages were open to anyone who sought to express an opinion. “I think that ‘Dispersion and Unity’ is highly respected in the intellectual world,” Shenker told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “It presents widely varied views, and if anyone with a reputation equal to Prof Talmon’s wants to air his views he is welcome.” Prof. Talmon is a highly respected scholar in Israel and abroad and the author of numerous works on philosophy and history, He is not associated with Matzpen, an extreme left-wing splinter organization.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
