Conference of “Committee to Revitalize Z.O.A. ” Adopts Program

A conference of the Committee for the Revitalization of the Z.O.A. attended by more than 100 Zionist leaders from all parts of the country, tonight endorsed a program of action for the Zionist Organization of America which called for a policy of non-identification with any party in Israel on matters of internal Israeli affairs.

The Committee, which drafted Ezra Shapiro of Cleveland as its candidate for the Z.O.A. presidency, held forth no prospects of a mass migration from the United States, but pledged itself to foster chalutziut and to encourage technicians to migrate to Israel for limited periods. The Committee also came out for democratization of the American Jewish community "not by side-stepping existing agencies, but by greater involvement and cooperation with existing agencies both on the national and local level." It also suggested the establishment of a special Z.O.A. bureau in Israel to assist private investment and permanent and limited migration to the Jewish State.

Among the major speakers at the conference were Mr. Shapiro, Jacob M. Alkow, president of the Southern Pacific Region of the Z.O.A., Rudolf Sonneborn, vice-president of the Z.O.A., Dewey Stone, vice-president, and Louis Lipsky, former Z.O.A. president and chairman of the American Zionist Council. A message was received from Dr. Nahum Goldmann, co-chairman of the Jewish Agency executive endorsing the Committee’s attempt to revitalize the Z.O.A. and praised the candidacy of Mr. Shapiro.

Presenting the program which he proposes to enact if elected to lead the Z.O.A., Mr. Shapiro welcomed the work of non-Zionists in the U.J.A., Israel bond drive and private investment campaigns for Israel, but stressed that this work is the primary responsibility of Zionists and that the Zionists must seek opportunities to lead in these operations. He called for the Z.O.A., in collaboration with the State of Israel, to evolve a program of encouraging private investment in Israeli industry.