Rabin Urges American Aliya

“There is nothing more important than aliya,” Premier Yitzhak Rabin yesterday told more than 250 American Jewish youth. He urged them to immigrate to Israel because “we need your help. We need your involvement. But most of all, we need you,” The gathering, held at the Jewish Agency head-quarters here, was sponsored by the American Zionist Youth Foundation and attended by members of a number of American Jewish youth groups.

Rabin stressed that the real challenge facing American Jewish youth at present is “building and fighting in Israel.” He added, however, that other challenges are “how to maintain the Jewishness of the Jewish community in America” and helping Jews when and wherever they are persecuted and oppressed.

Answering questions on the political situation in the Mideast and Israel’s willingness to make concessions, Rabin had some stinging words to say to those here who demand that Israel will not give up even “one inch,” “It is very easy to be extremist in New York. Those who demonstrate that Israel will not give back even an inch will do better if they will come to Israel.” He added “Those who do not have go to war have to bear in mind that they do not have the right to speak about peace and war” for Israelis.

Rabin, who was flooded with questions from members of Betar, the Herut-affiliated youth organization, mainly on the right of Jews to settle in the West Bank, said that “under the present circumstances we should not do things that will block understanding between the two people (Arabs and Jews)” and that Jews were always tolerant people and “we have to put on ourselves certain restrictions while we have control of the area.” Members of the Jewish Defense League demonstrated outside of the building while Rabin was addressing the youngsters. They called on Israel not to give in to Arab demands. (By Yitzhak Rabi)