World Jewry in future years could find itself in a two-fold dilemma according to Dr. Max F. Baer. national director of the B’nai B’rith Youth Organization. This situation. Dr. Baer told a gathering at dedication ceremonies for the Milan Conference Centre here recently, could develop because there is an unbreakable link between Israel’s destiny and the future role of youth in the diaspora. Israel, he said, will be able to overcome massive security and economic problems only through the continuing moral and material support of Jewish people in other lands. But, Dr. Baer warned, such devotion and commitment would be forthcoming only if today’s youth is trained to assume leadership in tomorrow’s Jewish community. Failure to achieve this objective could jeopardize both Israel and Jewish existence in the diaspora, he said. “Many young people today.” he continued, “having no memories of the Holocaust or of the bloody struggles that led to the founding of the Jewish state, concern themselves with humanistic, non-sectarian causes, while ignoring the urgent humanitarian cause of Israel’s struggle for survival–in essence, the struggle for survival of the Jewish people.”
Jewish youth organizations, said Dr. Baer, can make significant contributions to the future of Israel and to all Jewish causes “only if they receive adequate support from the Jewish community. That community must demonstrate a concern for youth development and education equal to that devoted to strengthening the State of Israel.” Without the continued existence of Israel, he warned. “Jewish survival in the diaspora cannot be assured. But without the support of the Jews of tomorrow, Israel’s own battle for survival may be lost. Each is inextricably bound to the other.” The Milan Conference Centre where Dr. Baer spoke is located on Lake St. Clair, about an hour’s ride from Detroit. It will be used as an educational site for Jewish youth in Michigan and Windsor, Ont. The Centre was a gift to the BBYO by Charles and Florence Milan, prominent Detroit philanthropists.
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