U.S. Jews Reported Continuing to Maintain Tradition of Liberalism

Unlike the general population in America in which there is a growth of conversatism with a rise in affluence, American Jews tend to maintain their tradition of liberalism despite their rising position on the economic ladder, Mr. Graenum Berger of the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York declared at the two-day Conference on Welfare State — Welfare Society held under the auspices of the American Histadrut Cultural Exchange Institute at Arden House here. Mr. Berger is a consultant of the Federation and has also been in charge of Jewish population studies. He is a member of the New York City Anti-Poverty Board.

In another paper, Professor Paul Schreiber, director of the School of Social Work at Hunter College, declared that although Israel’s and America’s social service programs “traveled different routes, their current position is marked by a number of similar features” and faced with similar problems. He criticized both systems which he said are rooted in “19th century ideology” but that both are struggling to evolve a welfare system and policies which “express and implement the philosophy of a modern state. “

Prof. Schreiber said that the placing of the Welfare Ministry in the hands of the National Religious Party in Israel is “an indication and reflection of the role welfare plays” in the State. The Ministry is well administered and its policies and staff reflect a “genuine concern for the welfare of the people, ” he declared. But welfare is regarded as one of the “less important areas of State responsibility, and because of its connotation of tzedaka, is considered more appropriate for the Religious Party than for Mapai, ” the Labor Party.

Dr. Judd L. Teller, executive vice-chairman of the American Histadrut Cultural Exchange Institute said that the Jewish tradition of using leisure time for study is being undermined in Israel, partly by the “affliction” of “American Levantinism, ” characterized by the commercialized uses of free time and excesses in living standards. Dr. Teller said that the impact of what he called American Levantinism, together with the less austere traditions of certain groups of immigrants plus the process of industrialization are leading to a “weakening of the will to accept the rigorousness of the society’s values and… protest against the values themselves. “

The American Histadrut Cultural Exchange Institute was established in 1964 to create a forum between the Histadrut in Israel and American experts and laymen concerned, like the Histadrut, with the solution of social problems, on a worldwide basis. The Institute arranges conferences on and off campuses, and plans to offer fellowships to American graduate students to study at Histadrut institutions.