Opposition to identification of Zionist parties outside of Israel with political groups in Israel was expressed here last night at the opening session of the three-day world-wide conference of the World Confederation of General Zionists. The Confederation was split in two over this issue, with one group meeting now in London and the other scheduled to meet next week in Israel.
Mrs. Rose Halprin and Dr. Israel Goldstein, the two co-chairmen of the Confederation, told General Zionist leaders from various countries assembled here that Jewish people in countries outside of Israel could express their opinions with regard to internal affairs in Israel directly, not through political parties in Israel.
“Many of us believe it to be immoral that men living in New York, London and Paris should try to influence the political life of Israel, Mrs. Halprin stated At the same time, she stressed that there are spheres in Israel’s life which are closely connected with the life of the Jews in Diaspora. As an example, she cited the fact that if there were an attempt to make Israel a theocratic state, the Jews everywhere would be affected.
Turning to Premier David Ben Gurion’s insistence that Zionism has failed because the majority of Zionists did not settle in Israel, Mrs. Halprin said the Zionist leadership would challenge this view. She felt that Israel looked at Jews in other countries only in the light of its own needs, not in the perspective of the requirements of Jewish communities abroad. She noted that the Diaspora was a fact of life and would probably remain so for a long time.
“It is my firm conviction that Zionist leaders must have the courage to face squarely the question: “Is there need for a Zionist movement?” she said. She warned, however, that easy as it was to destroy the Zionist movement it would be more difficult, probably impossible to rebuild it.
Dr. Goldstein, in an address on the internal Zionist situation, sketched in the details of the split within the centrist movement and the reasons for the present conference of groups who were opposed to the principle of identification with Israeli political parties Inviting other Zionist groups to follow the Confederation’s example, he said;
“We regard ourselves as trail blazers of an important path for Zionism By disengaging ourselves from the daily political problems of any Israeli parties, we hope to be more free to concentrate on the constructive aims and tasks of the Zionist movement as a whole.”
Outlining the support within the General Zionist movement for the Confederation’s position. Dr. Goldstein said that his faction included the Hadassah, the majority of the General Zionists in Europe and North Africa, the British Zionist Federation and groups from various Latin American countries. “It is our confident expectation that in the near future other large and important bodies will join, ” he concluded.
DR. GOLDMANN, LIPSKY SUPPORT NON-IDENTIFICATION WITH PARTIES IN ISRAEL
In a message to the parley, Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization, said; “I have always maintained that the creation of a strong world confederation not affiliated or identified politically with parties in Israel is essential for maintaining unity and a strong General Zionism outside Israel. I hope the new Confederation succeeds in unifying General Zionists the world over.”
Louis Lipsky, veteran American Zionist, sent a message to the conference, declaring that the “pressures of the last ten years had revolutionized Jewish life, and Zionism cannot isolate itself but must adapt itself” to the situation. The Confederation, Mr. Lipsky continued, must free itself from “partisanizing and fractionizing.” Party dogmas and procedures, he said, “hamper the development of Zionism in the Diaspora and distort life in Israel.”
He argued that the communities in the Diaspora, like Jewry in Israel, should have “the right of a life of its own “and must not be considered only an organized segment of life in Israel. ” He held that while such segments must not try to apply pressure through Israeli parties, the Israeli political parties should not try to influence Zionist political life throughout the world.
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