Zionist leaders from 13 countries attending a conference of the European branch of the World Confederation of General Zionists, were urged by two top leaders of the Confederation to promptly launch a broad program of Jewish education In the diaspora to combat the Increasing tempo of assimilation.
Ezra Shapiro, president of the World Confederation of General Zionists and head of the World Keren Hayesod, said “In every community there must be a strengthening of the forces and processes of Jewish education In order to insure the transmission of Jewish values, knowledge and solidarity with the State of Israel, unto our youth,” and to encourage aliya “to the fullest extent possible.”
Kalman Sultanik, executive vice-president of the Confederation and member of the World Zionist Executive, urged the Zionist movement to launch a “broad and ambitious program of education in the Western, world to stem the over rising tide of assimilation.” He said that “In the face of the deepening generation gap and the continued process of alienation of Jewish youth from our heritage,” the Zionist movement should “proceed forthwith to deal with the epidemic of assimilation which is decimating our current generation.”
To that end Sultanik proposed the immediate establishment by the World Zionist organization of an all-embracing commission with the “power and authority as well as the budget to Implement without any further delay the broad programs of Jewish education, the promotion of Hebrew and teaching of Jewish history which have been adopted at the last two World Zionist Congresses.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
