More than 700 delegates, guests and observers gathered at the opening session of the 35th Congress of the South African Zionist Federation, described by its sponsors as an attendance unprecedented in size and enthusiasm.
E. J. Horowitz, the outgoing president, declared that the theme of the conference had been dramatized by the fact that five members of the executive of the Zionist Federation had gone on aliya during the past two years. He reported that the Federation’s senior treasurer, Morris Borsuk, and his family also were planning to settle in Israel soon after “a lifetime of service to the Zionist cause.”
He said the Zionist movement in South Africa had made tremendous strides over the decades and that it had contributed innumerable resources towards a Zionist ideology, consciousness and organization. Horowitz was given a standing ovation, as was the new president, Julius Weinstein. A choir of children from the King David primary school sang songs of peace in English and in Hebrew, stressing the theme of “Aliyah Our Pledge of Faith.”
Dr. I. D. Unna, Israel’s Ambassador, discussed the “precarious position” of both South Africa and Israel and how Israel and the South African Jewish community could strengthen each other. He said South African Jews should not have any illusions about the fact they live in uncertain and anxious times. He said the challenges that face South Africa Jews, Israel and Jews throughout the world require a close and active cooperation between all Jewish communal institutions.
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.
