Though Israel is a sovereign state, every Zionist in the world must live Israel’s life and, therefore, has the right to express his opinion regarding the affairs of the state, Dr. Emanuel Neumann, president of the Zionist Organization of America, declared at the opening session here of the conference of the newly-formed World Union of General Zionists. Delegates from 20 countries are attending the conference.
Dr. Neumann, who was designated president of the World Union, in his keynote address dwelt on relations between Israel and Jewish communities abroad. He noted that Israel has a police force and an army and can protect itself against any intervention in its internal affairs by either Jews or Arabs.
The ZOA leader urged the world Zionist movement not to forget the Jewish communities throughout the world. Even if immigration from the free world to Israel were to start in a mass movement, there would always be Jewish communities for whom Zionism would remain the “essential air” for breathing Jewishness, Dr. Neumann declared.
Turning to the split with the General Zionist movement, Dr. Neumann charged that those who demand non-identification with the General Zionists in Israel are actually interested in enabling other parties to spread unhampered over all spheres of life in Israel. He called the London conference of the Reorganized Confederation of General Zionists a “tragic development in the Zionist movement,” adding that “we take up the challenge and are ready to prove our ways and methods.”
The world General Zionist movement, Dr. Neumann went on, will have to fight on two fronts–against those in Israel who would like to disconnect the ties with world Jewry and against those Jews abroad who want to remain philanthropists but do not regard Israel as their national home. He expressed the hope that this conference would lead ultimately to a strong, united movement which would “bear the torch for the whole Jewish nation.”
SAYS ZOA DOES NOTINTEND TO DENY CONNECTION WITH ISRAEL PARTY
At a dinner tendered last night in his honor. Dr. Neumann charged that though the London conference of the Reorganized World Confederation of General Zionists had :pretended” connection with the Progressive Party “it is obvious” that the Progressives were “instrumental” in the formation of the reorganized Confederation. The ZOA and other delegations at the Tel Aviv parley, he said, did not intend to deny their connections with the Israel General Zionist Party, which was part and parcel of the world General Zionist movement.”
Similar statements of solidarity between the Israeli centrists and the new World Union were made by Israeli General Zionist leaders Dr. Peretz Bernstein and Joseph Serlin
Leon Dulzin, Mexican General Zionist who heads the economic department of the Jewish Agency executive, called for a program of encouragement of middle class immigration to Israel. He noted that by 1962 Israel would be in far deeper economic trouble than now, because individual indemnification payments from West Germany would cease and the first $60,000,000 in Israel bonds would be due for repayment. Israel will thus be forced to approach world Jewry for even more assistance, the head of the Agency’s economic department pointed out.
This he saw as an argument for inviting more cooperation in the Jewish States affairs by Jews from abroad. In criticism of the London conference of General Zionists, he asserted that there had only been two delegates present from Latin America, while at this parley there were 20 delegates representing all the Latin American communities. Jacques Torczyner, ZOA leader, presided at today’s session.
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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.
