The third world conference of the Mizrachi, Zionist Orthodox organization, opened here last night and the third international conference of the Hapoel Hamizrachi, the labor wing of the organization, opened in Tel Aviv at the same time. Both will discuss a proposal to merge. The Mizrachi Women’s World Organization opened here today and all three groups will join in a single congress here tomorrow.
The Mizrachi parley heard Leon Gelman, world chairman of the Mizrachi movement, and Rabbi Mordecai Kirshblum, chairman of the American Mizrachi organization, support the merger proposal, asserting that the time was ripe for such action. The parley opened with eulogies of the late Yoel Laster of Britain and Rabbi Pinchas Ingberman, both of whom were flying to the conference on the EI AI plane downed by Bulgarian gunners last week.
At the Hapoel Hamizrachi conference a majority of the Israel and all of the South African and Canadian delegates favored a full merger, arguing that ideological differences between the two Orthodox Zionist groups were not sharp. An outright merger was opposed by the Lamifneh group within the Israel movement, on ideological grounds. The American delegation also opposes a full merger, offering instead the establishment of joint councils of the two autonomous movement to work together in such fields as: education, fundraising public relations and youth work.
The women’s Mizrachi meeting began a discussion of four major problems facing the group on a worldwide basis: strengthening religious life in Israel and in the Jewish communities abroad; unifying women’s religious Zionist organizations throughout the world; strengthening the existing Mizrachi women’s groups, and organizing new women’s groups in countries where they do not now exist.
The Mizrachi conference is attended by some 100 delegates, while the Labor Mizrachi meeting has 120 delegates. The Mizrachi delegates come from Israel, United States, Britain, Australia, Argentina, France, Belgium, Holland, Denmark, Canada and Mexico. Half of the delegates at the laborite meeting come from abroad.
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