Independence Day 1976 (May 5) comes in the midst of a campaign of wicked and unrestrained incitement against the State of Israel and the Zionist movement….We shall fight this battle, convinced in the justice of our cause and in the validity of Zionism…," the World Zionist Organization Executive declared in its Independence Day message to Jews around the world. The message said:
"On the 28th anniversary of the re-establishment of Israel’s independence in her historic homeland, the Zionist movement and all its affiliates stand firmly alongside the State of Israel as a full partner in its struggles and its heroic wars. We salute Israel’s great deeds in immigration, absorption, agricultural settlement and the building of a new Jewish society founded on the eternal spiritual values of the people of Israel.
"It was the World Zionist Organization, which will celebrate its 80th anniversary next year, which forged the way toward independence and freedom, strengthening the spirit of the people in the most terrible period in its history, and converting its suffering into the impetus for Zionist achievement.
"During these 28 years, and in the years of struggle which preceded them, 3,000,000 Jews struck roots in the State of Israel and were coalesced into a great, democratic, progressive and creative nation. Through our deeds, we translated the dream into the reality: A Jewish State which is for the Jewish people the focus of its national existence and the center of its creativity.
UNRESTRAINED INCITEMENT AGAINST ISRAEL
"Independence Day, 1976, comes in the midst of a campaign of wicked and unrestrained incitement against the State of Israel and the Zionist movement: this campaign is instigated by the dark forces of blind hatred, directed against the whole of the Jewish people, its past and its future.
"We shall fight this battle, convinced of the justice of our cause and of the validity of Zionism, proud of the movement for the liberation and the renewal of the Jewish people. The Jewish people will know how to overcome this unbridled campaign of incitement, just as they knew how to overcome obstacles put in their way in the past. United and even prepared, we shall continue to build and strengthen the structure of our future.
"On the 28th independence Day, the State of Israel is still obliged to defend her security. She aspires to peace and she wishes with all her might to achieve good neighborly relations and cooperation with her neighbors. Yet, in the face of the dangers threatening her, the State of Israel must grow stronger in order to overcome these threats.
"On the 28th Independence Day let us remember that only 29 percent of world Jewry lives in Israel. The strength of the State depends upon its constant growth and progress. And aliya to Israel is its life blood, to which it is dedicated above all."
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
