Sharett Condemns Zealots Campaign Against Youth Immigration System

Moshe Sharett, chairman of the Jewish Agency, today condemned the campaign being conducted by ultra-religious zealots against the Agency’s youth immigration department. The department, said Mr. Sharett, “has had under its charge for many years the sons and daughters of Orthodox families, and no pretest had been voiced against the spirit or the tone of their education in Israel.”

Mr. Sharett pointed out that three-fourths of all recently arrived teen-age immigrants have been sent to Orthodox institutions for their education. Some questions still pending, he declared, “continue to be subjected to clarification.” He added that a full report on the issue will be made to the next meeting of the Jewish Agency’s executive.

Representatives of the Jewish Agency met this morning with religious representatives, including a delegation from the National Religious Party, and discussed ways to end the dispute about the type of religious training being given the young immigrants. The ultra-Orthodox raiders who stormed the Ramat Hadassah youth immigration camp last week charged that the teen-agers were not being properly indoctrinated in Orthodox religious practices.

Representatives of the National Religious Party demanded at this morning’s meeting that religious instructors be appointed for the youth immigrants, not only here but also abroad. They also requested that representatives of Israel’s Chief Rabbinate be named to a committee to determine the type of education to be given the young immigrants. Another meeting of today’s participants has been scheduled for Wednesday.

The ultra-Orthodox Agudath Israel, however, is continuing its agitations on the issue. Last night, Agudah held a mass-meeting here, denouncing the Agency’s Youth Aliyah department.