The chairman of the American Zionist Council has taken issue with the position on Zionist enunciated by Israel Breslow, president of the Workmen’s Circle, in an address before the organization’s recent convention, and accused him of “distortions and misleading allegations” on the meaning of Zionism. Rabbi Israel Miller objected to Mr. Breslow’s statement that “Zionists believe that Israel is the homeland of all Jews and that Jews elsewhere are living in the Galut – in the diaspora.” He said, “We in the Workmen’s Circle say no. For us the United States…is our permanent homeland.” The statement was part of an explanation by Mr. Breslow of the Workmen’s Circle stand of whole-hearted support of Israel, while rejecting the Zionist philosophy. Rabbi Miller, in a letter to Mr. Breslow, said Zionism “stands for the creative survival of the Jewish people everywhere.” He said that while Zionists were deeply concerned over Israel, “we are similarly concerned with the meaningful survival of the Jewish people – as a people – in all the lands wherein they dwell.”
As the Year Turns, Support the Journalism You Trust. JTA covers the stories shaping Jewish life around the world — with the depth this moment calls for. As you reflect on the year ahead, consider a gift that keeps independent Jewish journalism strong.
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.
