Conference taveng::bagels

222.0. "Zionism & 31st World Zionist Congress" by MARY::TRAPASSO () Thu Oct 30 1986 17:24

     		NEXT YEAR, ELECTION DAY IS MAY 15 
    		---------------------------------
    
    You believe in the unity of the Jewish people and the centrality
    of Israel in Jewish life.
    
    You stand for strengthening the democratic State of Israel.
    
    You support the ingathering of the farflung Jewish people to its
    historic homeland, Eretz Yisrael.
    
    You advocate the preservation of the Jewish people and their identity
    through education and cultural programming.
    
    You care about the protection of Jewish rights, and all minority
    rights, everywhere.
    
    Because you believe in these principles of the Zionist Movement,
    you already belong to a Zionist organization.
    
    But are you acting on your beliefs?  Will you be there when we need
    you?
    
    THE ZIONIST MOVEMENT IS THE WAY
    
    Withut an _organized_ movement in which Jews are publicly identified,
    there can be no democratic action.  Not for peace, nor for the many
    monumental accomplishments of recent years.  The resettlement in
    Israel of 1,800,000 immigrants from over 100 countries.  The vast
    educational program for many hundreds of thousnads of youngsters
    in Israel and in the United States.  The initiation of the struggle
    to rescue Soviet Jewry, Ethiopian Jewry, and Jews in peril throughout
    the globe.
    
    _You_ continue this endeavor as part of a meaningful American Jewish
    community by lending voice to the Zionist Movement.  By standing
    up and being counted.  This is the American way.  The way for you
    and the 1,000,000 Americans who presently declare with pride, "I
    am a Zionist."
    
    YOU CAN BE EVEN MORE EFFECTIVE
    
    1. Enroll your friends.
    
       You and people like you are the lifeblood of the Zionist Movement.
       Encourage those friends who share your beliefs to act on them
       as you do.  Send for membership information that will tell them
       how.   Write to American Zionist Federation, 515 Park Ave., New
       York, NY 10022. 
    
    2. Participate.
    
       Come to Philadelphia, where American democracy began!  From January
       4th to 7th, 1987, Philadelphia will be home to the American Zionist
       Assembly.  The climax of our membership campaign.  Here you can
       be inspired by world-renowned speakers, enjoy cultural and spiritual
       regeneration through a striking series of programs.  And most
       significantly, share in the decisions affecting Zionists the
       world over.  Send to the above address for enrollment and
       reservation details.
       
    3. Vote.
    
       May 15, 1987.  That is the day the ballots will be mailed, asking
       you, as a Zionist organization member, to cast your vote to help
       elect delegates to the 31st World Zionist congress in late 1987.
       Your answer has never meant more.  The World Zionist Congress--the
       parliament of the Jewish people--is the only democratic legislative
       body for world Jewry; your vote is their instrument.  Raise your
       hand high!
    
    Reprinted without permission.  American Zionist Federation.
    B. Cohen, President.  K.J.Rubenstein, Executive Director
    
    Member organizations:
    
    	American Zionist Youth Council
    	American Jewish League
    	Americans for Progressive Israel
    	AMIT Women
    	Association of Reform Zionists of America
    	B'nai Zion
    	Emunah Women
    	Hadassah
    	Herut Zionists of America
    	Mercaz
    	Labor Zionist Alliance
    	North American Aliyah Movement
    	Na'amut-USA
    	Religious Zionists of America 
    	Zionist Organization of America
    	Zionist Student Movement
    
           

    re:.0
    
    I don't have any objection to all of this, but don't you think that
    it would be more truthful to describe ouselves as "supporters of
    Zionism" rather than Zionist?  After all the major tenet of Zionism
    is being on the land, and so when I am not I cannot abused the term.
    
    David

    Actually, I always thought that a Zionist was a person who
    was willing to pay money in order to have somebody else
    go live in Israel.  This definition, of course, makes it
    very hard for anybody who lives in Israel to get defined
    as a Zionist, but that's OK, because (as shown in polls)
    people who live in Israel for the most part DON'T describe
    themselves as Zionists, while people who live in America do!
    So the definition must be right.  Right?
                          

    Are you acting on your beliefs? Not many Zionists do that or they
    would all be living in Israel - myself included. Israel is a place
    where Jewish refugees should know that they can go, but it is also
    there for us. Israel needs to be more than a place for refugees, and
    it needs to be more than an ideal. Israel should not only be viewed
    as an insurance policy. The more you give it the more it gives you.
    
    If you have ever been there you will know of the high quality of
    life it offers. Not in dollars but by its culture, people and educational
    opportunities. Get involved with the people as they are the country -      
    not all the politicians. The problem with being a Zionist in the
    diaspora is that you concern yourself with Israel and nearly all
    that you hear is politics. 
                                  
    I'm not saying that readers of this note shouldn't get involved
    and vote - they should. But that won't make you a Zionist.
    
    Malcolm                                               
    

    Bravo, Malcolm, I think you said it all in your reply.  I was going
    to reply here that there is an not-so-unconscious pattern that has
    people in the West thinking that Israel is only for refugees.  I
    used to think that the appeal for Aliya from the West had a slight
    racist tinge to it in that the Sochnut(Jewish Agency) was trying
    to counter the Mizrachi influence in Israel.  But there are numerous
    contributions that Jews from the "developed" countries can make.
    Certainly today we can contribute to the strengthening of democracy
    in the society, which is currently under attack by "Jewish Khomeinism".
    
    David 

    I just want to say that the original note was reprinted without
    permission from information publicly published by the American Zionist
    Federation.  
    
    I thought, and still believe, that the 31st World Zionist Congress
    is something we should all be aware of as it affects each of us.
    
    I think the discussion on the word "Zionist" has been informative.
    
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    Mary,
    
    How does the World Zionist Congress affect each of us? They have 
    no mandated power and I'm not sure what mechanisms 
    they have through which policies can be implemented.
    
    Malcolm

    More information soon on the role of the World Zionist Congress...
    
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