An appeal to Zionists in the United States to give Hebrew education to their children was voiced here by Mrs. Rose Halprin, acting chairman of the Jewish Agency, addressing the four-day national convention of the Histadruth Ivrith of America.
Mrs. Halprin stressed that the minimum obligation of every Zionist in this country is to give a Hebrew education to his children. She said that there are at least 300,000 Jewish families affiliated with one Zionist organization or another. If each one of these families would live up to the obligation to provide a Hebrew education for their young, there would be an upsurge of Jewish cultural life in America, she declared.
Mrs. Halprin said that the basis for a Jewish education was the Hebrew language, but asserted that Hebrew was not an end in itself. She held that it must be used as an instrument to acquire basic knowledge of the Bible and Hebrew literature, ancient as well as modern. She called on the Histadrut Ivrit to make room for the young people who will eventually join the group in its work.
Israel Ambassador Avraham Harman said that the relationship between American Jewry and the Jews of Israel must be established not on the basis of philanthropy but on the basis of cultural and educational equality. He said the Jews in Israel had much to do in order to stamp out illiteracy, and American Jews must not rely on Israel to supply them with all the educational and cultural aid.
Among the resolutions passed at the convention were those calling for the extension of the organizational facilities of the movement to include the larger Jewish communities in America. It was decided to send organizers to certain communities to establish branches, wherever there were significant numbers of persons with a knowledge of Hebrew.
It was also decided to establish intensive courses for adults in Hebrew in cities throughout the country. Members of the new presidium elected at the convention are Dr. Joseph Tenenbaum, Harry Carmely and N. B. Newman.
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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.
