Jewish Agency recruiting squads are casting their nets on American college campuses and in large population centers to gather in the “Zippies” (short for Zionist Hippies) and Jewish members of the New Left who eschew Zionism because they identify it with the establishment and their elders.
The term “Zippie” was coined by Col. Mordecai Bar-On, head of the Jewish Agency’s Youth and Chalutz Department, who described the drive to get dissident or alienated American Jewish youth to come to Israel. He said it was the aim of the emissaries, mostly Israeli students, to present the true image of Israel as a young, progressive, developing and social-minded country. He noted that the Israeli emissaries were no longer selected on the basis of their party membership and that some young non-Israelis were working with them.
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.
