The Zionist Revolutionary League–Laser–was disbanded this week after a Jewish Agency subsidy was cancelled. In a communique released yesterday a Laser spokesman said it was no longer able to rent a meeting hall or hold any of its normal activities. Another reason given for disbanding was that the league’s actions and the “new revolutionary perspectives had cut us off from the Jewish establishment,” the communique said. The league said it had decided “to openly fight Mapai (the Israel Labor Party) which pretends it is the Jewish Agency and which did everything possible to contribute to our end.”
The statement added, without elaboration, “We have decided on a new form of fight to directly contact the Jewish masses.” Laser was a small student organization which favored Zionism jointly with a Socialist revolution in Israel. Its program was similar to that of radical Jewish student groups in the US. The league won the last Jewish student organization elections and formed the Action Committee of Zionist Socialist Youth. The Jewish Agency is believed to have been disturbed by Laser’s demands for more social justice in Israel and for its support of the Black Panther movement.
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.
