Hotels here were filling up today as the last of the 350 overseas delegates and 200 Israeli delegates arrived in town for the 28th World Zionist Congress that opens tomorrow evening. Noticeable among the arriving delegates was the large number of new and generally younger people.
The various party factions have held their caucuses or will hold them during the next 24 hours and the number of controversial Issues raised Indicated that the Congress will be a lively one. The Labor Zionists which with their overseas adherents and Israeli delegates is by far the largest faction, ended a pre-Congress meeting in Tel Aviv today with a decision to stress the “spiritual and social, as well as the physical absorption” of Russian Jewish emigres.
That emphasis is intended to meet complaints by some Immigrants from the USSR–notably those from the Soviet Georgian Republic–that their social and religious needs are being neglected. The Labor Zionists will also propose that Jewish groups unaffiliated with a political party be admitted to the World Zionist Organization provided that they accept the “Jerusalem Program” credo which holds that Israel is central to Jewish life all over the world.
The Labor Zionists are likely to run into a bitter political fight with their proposal to abolish the American section of the Jewish Agency Executive and transact all business thereafter through the Jerusalem Executive.
HERUT MOVES TO CONDEMN GOLDMANN
Another bitter floor battle is expected to develop from the demands by the nationalistic Herut faction for a resolution advocating Israel’s present cease-fire lines as Israel’s permanent boundaries, Herut also wants to condemn Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Jewish Congress, for his remarks in London last month.
To some Zionists, including apparently a majority of the Executive in Jerusalem, this was rank heresy. But Dr. Goldmann has won considerable support abroad, If not for his views, then for his treatment by the WZO Executive which withdrew its invitation to him to address a festive session of the Congress dealing with 75 years of Zionist history.
Louis Pincus, chairman of the WZO Executive, told a press conference here today that the Congress will deal less with the failures of the past and more with practical activity to make Zionism attractive to those 25-40 years old whom he described as the continuity generation to the leadership ranks of the Zionist movement.
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