Jewish Community Relations Council, Boston, Massachusetts |
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July-August, 1970 11 A More Perfect Zionist Union by Daniel Mann The American Zionist Federation is "an idea whose time has come." After decades of debate and dissension on the question of reorganization and unification, it was only a few years ago that the constituent organizations of the American Zionist movement actually began moving toward the ide3 of federation. This process took on new momentum and renewed urgency under the impact of the Six-Day War, and culminated in Philadelphia only two months ago, at the First National Convention of the Federation, which was attended by five hundred delegates coming from communities throughout the country and representing some twenty-five national Zionist organizations, youth and student movements, and related agencies, The theme of the Convention—"In Order to Form a More Perfect Union"—was taken from the preamble of the American Constitution, written in Philadelphia almost two hundred years ago. To quote the constitution of the Federation itself, the new framework will "speak and act for the unified Zionist movement in the United States." It is intended both to consolidate the efforts of the existing Zionist constituency in the fields of public and communal affairs, Jewish education, youth and campus activities, and ali- yah, and to invite the affiliation and participation of like-minded individuals and organizations in the community at large. Special emphasis is now being placed on the organization of local Zionist Federations throughout the United States, since the federation process in its essence means the involvement of Jews on the grass-roots level in the program of the organized Zionist movement. Federation is not a new concept in American Zionist life. Over a half-century ago there was a "Federation of American Zionists," the precursor of today's Zionist Organization of America. More recently, beginning in the 1940's, the Poalc Zion leader, Baruch Zuckerman, and indeed thc entire Labor Zionist movement advocated the idea of a federated framework. During the last two decades, some of thc General Zionist organizations contribued in their way by stressing the need for "de-politicizing" the inner workings of the movement and attracting new elements on a non-partisan basis. Individual leaders of World Zionism, most notably Dr. Daniel Mann served ai co-ordinator of the various committees and boards which prepared for the establishment of the American Zionist Federation during the past two years. However, the interpretations and opinions in this article are his own. Nahum Goldmann and the late Moshe Sharett, also pressed for greater American Zionist unity in the course of their contacts with leaders in this country. Yet—for reasons of inertia, indifference, or internal politics—little progress was made, during most of the period that followed the climatic events of the 1940's, to move the movement toward any meaningful reform of its structure. Instead, the burden was shifted to the World Zionist scene, where commissions on reorganization were succeeded by new commissions, whose reports to Zionist congresses were followed by the appointment of still more commissions. At the 26th Zionist Congress, which met in Jerusalem in early 1965, there was yet another such referral—a resolution authorizing the appointment of a Commission on Reorganization of the World Zionist Organization which was to report to the next congress a few years later. It is no reflection on its predecessors that this Commission succeeded in laying the basis for the reform which has now come about. It is rather that by 1965, when this particular Commission began its work, there was a recognition on the part of most Zionist leaders that "something had to be done about American Zionism." As one leading personality subsequently explained, "We just had to come to grips with the fact that we were playing less and less of a role in Jewish life in America, even in pro-Israel activities. The individual oragnizations were all doing excellent work but the total image of Zionism in America was weak." Besides this readiness for an "agonizing reappraisal," the structuring of thc Commission on Reorganization itself enhanced its capacity for initiating a restructuring of organized Zionism. In place of a single body which would propose a uniform plan for the whole world, each continent—in some cases, even each country— had its own committee. Moreover, each such committee was drawn from both the experienced leadership of the constituent organizations and from knowledgeable elements in thc community at large, particularly academic and rabbinical circles. The American Committee was headed by Dr. Judah Shapiro, a leading advocate of renewed Zionist concern for all facets of Jewish life and fuller democracy in both the Zionist movement and the Jewish community. By the time the various committees and then the full Commission on Reorganization had com-
Object Description
Collection Name | Jewish Community Relations Council, Boston, Massachusetts |
Collection Number | I-123 |
Dates | 1948; 1949; 1950; 1951; 1952; 1953; 1954; 1955; 1956; 1957; 1958; 1959; 1960; 1961; 1962; 1963; 1964; 1965; 1966; 1967; 1968 |
Box Number | 147 |
Folder Number | 03 |
Subjects |
Antisemitism Civil Rights Social Justice World War II |
Access | Request access |
Rights | User has an obligation to determine copyright or other use restrictions prior to publication or distribution. Please contact the archives at reference@ajhsboston.org or 617-226-1245 for more information. |
Language | English |
Source | American Jewish Historical Society-New England Archives, New England Historic Genealogical Society |
Description
Collection Name | Jewish Community Relations Council, Boston, Massachusetts |
Collection Number | I-123 |
Dates | 1948; 1949; 1950; 1951; 1952; 1953; 1954; 1955; 1956; 1957; 1958; 1959; 1960; 1961; 1962; 1963; 1964; 1965; 1966; 1967; 1968 |
Box Number | 147 |
Folder Number | 03 |
Subjects |
Antisemitism Civil Rights Social Justice World War II |
Description |
Activities Israel and The Middle East Pro-Israeli Organizations and Activities American Zionist Emergency Council (Zionist Emergency Council) |
Access | Request access |
Rights | User has an obligation to determine copyright or other use restrictions prior to publication or distribution. Please contact the archives at reference@ajhsboston.org or 617-226-1245 for more information. |
Language | English |
Transcript | July-August, 1970 11 A More Perfect Zionist Union by Daniel Mann The American Zionist Federation is "an idea whose time has come." After decades of debate and dissension on the question of reorganization and unification, it was only a few years ago that the constituent organizations of the American Zionist movement actually began moving toward the ide3 of federation. This process took on new momentum and renewed urgency under the impact of the Six-Day War, and culminated in Philadelphia only two months ago, at the First National Convention of the Federation, which was attended by five hundred delegates coming from communities throughout the country and representing some twenty-five national Zionist organizations, youth and student movements, and related agencies, The theme of the Convention—"In Order to Form a More Perfect Union"—was taken from the preamble of the American Constitution, written in Philadelphia almost two hundred years ago. To quote the constitution of the Federation itself, the new framework will "speak and act for the unified Zionist movement in the United States." It is intended both to consolidate the efforts of the existing Zionist constituency in the fields of public and communal affairs, Jewish education, youth and campus activities, and ali- yah, and to invite the affiliation and participation of like-minded individuals and organizations in the community at large. Special emphasis is now being placed on the organization of local Zionist Federations throughout the United States, since the federation process in its essence means the involvement of Jews on the grass-roots level in the program of the organized Zionist movement. Federation is not a new concept in American Zionist life. Over a half-century ago there was a "Federation of American Zionists," the precursor of today's Zionist Organization of America. More recently, beginning in the 1940's, the Poalc Zion leader, Baruch Zuckerman, and indeed thc entire Labor Zionist movement advocated the idea of a federated framework. During the last two decades, some of thc General Zionist organizations contribued in their way by stressing the need for "de-politicizing" the inner workings of the movement and attracting new elements on a non-partisan basis. Individual leaders of World Zionism, most notably Dr. Daniel Mann served ai co-ordinator of the various committees and boards which prepared for the establishment of the American Zionist Federation during the past two years. However, the interpretations and opinions in this article are his own. Nahum Goldmann and the late Moshe Sharett, also pressed for greater American Zionist unity in the course of their contacts with leaders in this country. Yet—for reasons of inertia, indifference, or internal politics—little progress was made, during most of the period that followed the climatic events of the 1940's, to move the movement toward any meaningful reform of its structure. Instead, the burden was shifted to the World Zionist scene, where commissions on reorganization were succeeded by new commissions, whose reports to Zionist congresses were followed by the appointment of still more commissions. At the 26th Zionist Congress, which met in Jerusalem in early 1965, there was yet another such referral—a resolution authorizing the appointment of a Commission on Reorganization of the World Zionist Organization which was to report to the next congress a few years later. It is no reflection on its predecessors that this Commission succeeded in laying the basis for the reform which has now come about. It is rather that by 1965, when this particular Commission began its work, there was a recognition on the part of most Zionist leaders that "something had to be done about American Zionism." As one leading personality subsequently explained, "We just had to come to grips with the fact that we were playing less and less of a role in Jewish life in America, even in pro-Israel activities. The individual oragnizations were all doing excellent work but the total image of Zionism in America was weak." Besides this readiness for an "agonizing reappraisal," the structuring of thc Commission on Reorganization itself enhanced its capacity for initiating a restructuring of organized Zionism. In place of a single body which would propose a uniform plan for the whole world, each continent—in some cases, even each country— had its own committee. Moreover, each such committee was drawn from both the experienced leadership of the constituent organizations and from knowledgeable elements in thc community at large, particularly academic and rabbinical circles. The American Committee was headed by Dr. Judah Shapiro, a leading advocate of renewed Zionist concern for all facets of Jewish life and fuller democracy in both the Zionist movement and the Jewish community. By the time the various committees and then the full Commission on Reorganization had com- |
Source | American Jewish Historical Society-New England Archives, New England Historic Genealogical Society |
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