Mordechai Bar On, for almost nine years the head of the World Zionist Organization’s Youth and Hechalutz Department, is concerned that too few American Jews visit Israel, especially young Americans. He believes strongly that extended visits to Israel by American Jewish youth will benefit the Jewish community in the U.S. by strengthening their Jewish identification and benefit Israel because a certain percentage would remain or return as olim.
Bar On left for the U.S. last week — his second visit there since November — to discuss his objectives with leaders of American Jewish organizations and communities and to seek means to achieve them. There are presently only 4,000 young American Jews in Israel on stays ranging from six months to a year. “If by next year there are fewer than 8,000 American youth here for a stay of a half-year to a year, I shall regard it as a failure of my mission,” Bar On told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in an interview before his departure.
He said he told WZO Executive Chairman Yosef Almogi that he wanted “no powers and no budget” for this mission but a carte blanche to make whatever arrangements were necessary to achieve fast results. He said one of his intentions was to “give a push” to Israel programs for American Jewish youth in cooperation with such organizations as Hadassah and B’nai B’rith which have Israel program departments.
WESTERN ALIYA DISAPPOINTING
Bar On was disappointed at the low rate of Western aliya. He noted that only 3,000 American immigrants came to Israel in 1976 out of a total aliya of 20,000. He said that considering that there are 5.5 million Jews in the U.S., that figure was deplorable. “But it is not in that respect only that American Jewry has let us down,” Bar On said.
“Aliya is a personal matter and it depends to a large extent on the way we absorb immigrants here.” Bar On noted. “This is not an American failure.” The failure lies, he said, in the fact that American Jewry ignores the potential benefits of extended stays in Israel and thereby does itself an injustice.
“American Jewry is worried about its creative survival,” the WZO official noted. “It is quite obvious that Jewish education in the U.S. does not answer the educational needs. Integral Jewish education and Sunday schools show very little achievements.” But when a young Jew comes to Israel for a limited period it enriches his identity.
“Thus, both American Jewry and Israel gain. Some 80 percent of those who come to Israel for six months to one year go back to the U.S. and deepen their Jewishness. The other 20 percent stays here which is Israel’s dividend.” Bar On said.
He said he would try to secure the cooperation of American Jewish leaders to promote the idea that a visit to Israel is as much a part of Jewish life as the circumcision ceremony or bar mitzvah. “I do not see any reason why within two years we should not have here some 20-30,000 Jews for an extended stay.” Bar On said. Every American Jew should come to Israel at least once in his life time. “Otherwise, under the present rate of extended visits, only four percent of American Jews will be able to say “I was in Israel”. Bar On said.
TARGETS IN THE U.S.
He stressed that he was not going to the U.S. to “show the light.” He said his targets could be reached only if the American Jewish community is actively involved in the project. “I don’t have a specific plan how to achieve this target. I simply think that it is not good to sit in Jerusalem and come to the U.S. with a blue-print,” he said. He said he discussed his plans with American Jewish leaders in November and got the impression that there was a basic readiness to go ahead. “I fell as if the Americans told me, ‘come over and let’s work together’.” Bar On said.
He maintained that there are not too many shlichim (emissaries) in the U.S. but too few. The 150 aliya and youth emissaries there now are insufficient, he said because each Jewish community needs an Israeli presence. What has to be changed is the nature of the shlichim he said. Rather than have them come as strangers to the community they should be invited and work under the community’s direct supervision.
“We must find a way to make Zionist missions a function of the community. It is in the community that the financial resources and the prestige lie. It is this body that deals with the Jewish community on a daily basis and can help us sort out those Jews who may be interested in Israel, whether for aliya or a long term visit,” he said.
According to Bar On, the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds has agreed in principle to investigate the possibility of establishing departments for Israel programs and aliya. In addition to this and other organizations that run Israel programs, there are Zionist organizations, youth movements and the relatively large numbers of unaffiliated Jews. These are sources to be tapped. Bar On said.
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.
