The theme that Israeli Jews were making proportionally higher contributions to the costs of immigration and absorption, as compared with Jews in other countries, was stressed by speakers at the opening session here today of the three-day world conference of Keren Hayesod.
Dr. Israel Goldstein, world chairman, said that in absolute figures, the ratio of such contributions was two to one in favor of the Israeli Jews, despite an increase of Keren Hayesod income of 20 per cent in the past four years. He urged Jewish communities outside of Israel to “shake off” the routine approach and to realize the enormity of the task involved in providing for newcomers to Israel.
Finance Minister Pinhas Sapir lauded world Jewry’s contributions but stressed the heavy burdens borne by Israel in facing security problems. He said these posed a strain on Israel’s budget “far out of proportion to the country’s size.”
Dr. Nahum Goldmann said a “radical change” in the level of contributions by World Jewry was imperative. He said giving for Israel was not philanthropy. It must be realized that no Jewish community was safe unless Israel became “the center of our existence as guaranteed since “none of the major and fundamental problems on which Israel’s future depends has been solved.”
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.
