American Jews must be allowed to find their own way to acceptance of the full Zionist program, Dr. Nahum Goldmann told the Zionist Actions Committee today. Prompting will not help to speed up the process, he stated. He pointed out that American Jewry is entirely different in its outlook, form of life and communal structure from the Jews of Europe.
Berl Locker, chairman of the Jewish Agency executive in Jerusalem, maintained that it is a Zionist duty to push American Jewry along the road of accepting the Zionist program, no matter how unpopular such a course might be Judith Epstein, Hadassah leader, said Zionism could become a profound instrument not only for Israel but also for American Jewry, were it given a new meaning. The United States, she said, is a great melting pot and the present American way of life does not admit cultural pluralities.
Mrs. Epstein told the Actions Committee that the fight for Israel is now being carried on in the United States by all elements of American Jewry, except the American Council for Judaism. Israel, she declared, has given American Jews a new sense of dignity which was heretofore unknown to them.
Mortimer May, president of the Zionist Organization of America, said the existence of Israel is of importance to all of world Jewry. If the Jewish State were to fall, world Jewry would fall, he stated. Rabbi M. Kirshblum, American Mizrachi leader, urged Israeli leaders to adopt a more positive attitude toward Jewish communities outside of Israel by recognizing the advances they have made in Jewish life instead of constantly criticizing them.
Rabbi Irving Miller, ZOA leader, reported on the work of the American Zionist Council. He opposed the contention that the American Zionist movement would become stronger by the merging of all Zionist groups in the country into one territorial federation.
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.
