Zionist Council of Israel Concludes First Session, Places Accent on Youth

The newly-formed Zionist Council of Israel concluded its first session today by appointing a coordinating committee of 20 members–nine representing youth and student organizations. It is headed by Aharon Yadlin, deputy minister of education.

The students had asked that no new body be established until a thorough inquiry had been held to determine its need. The role of Zionism in Israel, they felt, should be discussed rather than technical matters pertaining to the council.

Closing remarks were delivered by Louis A. Pincus, chairman of the Jewish Agency Executive, who said that most leaders and organizations in Israel favored the establishment of the council. A large representation, he said, should be given to the younger generation.

Forty students and youth leaders debated bitterly inside and outside the meeting hall about the role of youth and the alleged “failure” of “Zionist information.” Many members of the older generations disputed them.

Yaacov Tsur, who headed the preparatory committee, said in his opening address that the “neo-anti- Semitic” and Arab propagandists in the world were using Zionism as a camouflage for their attacks on the Jewish nation.

Mr. Pincus deplored activities of Jewish youth abroad who, he said, were trying to negate the values of the Jewish people’s fight for national liberation and were taking up causes like those represented by the New Left and Arab terrorists. The vast majority of Diaspora Jews, he said, identify with Israel, adding that “the time has come for Israel to learn more about its only real supporters.”

Deputy Premier Yigal Allon said Zionism “needs a new map of aims and purposes.” He spoke of the religious content of Jewish life throughout the ages but added that the secular and religious existence of the Jewish nation had always developed side by side. Diaspora Jews, he said, should study Jewish history and the Hebrew language.