Page 6 - HaShofar 5709 1948

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"IIlSTORY IN THE MAKING"
. We enter the year q709 with justifiable pride in
our people and · in humble gratitude to the
Almighty. We have witnessed in the year 5708 the
.establishment of the .Republic of Israel-a dream
that Jews have not, been privileged to realize for .
1;878 year&. We have seen history made. We have
helped to make the date May _16. 1913, 7th of Iyar
5708, among the four most imper.ant milestones
in Jewish ·• history, ranking with l.2!'i0 B.C.E;~
Revelation of · the Torah, 586 B.C.K-'--Exile of
Judea, 70 C.R. --- Destruction of the 2nd Temple
and of the Jewish State. This ·great miracle came
about in •accordance with the prescribed traditional
setting. Our people su:ffe;red in full .measure' the
pangs of the. Messiah - the birthpains of a Jewish
Republic. The losses were frightful in both human
life. and property. Yet, with Divine guidance, our
people, through. sheer unswerving determination,
and against ·tremendous opposition _:_ ·even . from
so ·called friends - brought a ·Jewish State into
being. We became dazzled by the sudden flood of
the light of freedom and independence for• our
people. In the words of the psalmist, "We were
as dreamers." _:_ happy ·dreamers who became re·
alists, · and though realities · indicate that the
struggle is _a long way from being completed, that
the problems lying ahead are many and •complex,
yet happy determined dreamers we remain.
It is a certainty that Israel ·- the Republic -
will i-eq.uire every type of assistance that our peo·
ple and friendly nations will have to offer. The .
principal burden will .fall upon . the American
Jewish Community. Present indications are that the
function of ·Zionist Organizations iri the United
States will be to ·furnish vast financial aid to sup:
. port the tremendous task of immigration on a scale ·
unprecedented in history. Israel will successfully
absorb close to one million Jewsin the next seven
years '--'- given proper support in the transport and
· rehabilitation of the majority of the immigrants. .
Yet a clear distinction must be made as to the type
of aid to be furnished relief and rehabilitation
agencies arid that to be furnished the Republic of
_Israel. We have for mariy years •been accustom¢d
to large scale efforts, such as the United Jewish .
4· '
By SAMSON KRUPNICK
Appeal, . Jewish National Fund, . and Torah
V'Avodah · Campaigns. Those tremendous drives
must continue for another seven to ten years in-
volving possibly over ,.two billion dollars. That,
· however, is not the type of aid properly to be made
to the Rep~bliq of •Israel.' Israel's future develop• .
ment ·depends in · a .large measure on the extent of
the business investment.-. that we make · in Israel
industry, the markets that we open for Israeli pro-
ducts; the transportation .and communication faci•
lities that we help maintain by constantly incre!ls·
ing commerce, by huge tou.rist .traffic, .by every
proper business means at our disposal to create
and maintain ·a favorable balance of ·trade . for
Israel. 'This all-important essential comme.rcial and
economic support must be rendered ·by individuals
in ·the course ·of their.-norrnal business affairs, by
individuals through i:hei:r ,.Zionist .Organizations in
group investment, .. or through . reliable investment
corporatiqns such as AMEIC~American Eretz
. Israel Corporation~yielding ·attractive investment
returns an.cl at the same time rendering in:val_uable
service to the development of Israel. · ·
. A land that will flourish and develop · quic:kly
and extensively, as we mo.st assuredly e_xpect of
Israel, will experience ' growing pains. There will
be myriads . of political, military, econo.niic and
cultural problems~ A basic pn:>blem will of neces•
sity b.e the form . of development of the . cultural
contour of. Israel. There will he tendencies and
movemenfs to abandon traditioiis "in . Jewish life.
b·1ye~dexiUa:mIpsrlaeelthine
. Hapoel Hami~tachj. will take the
promotit.g- by education and .
Torah principles as i:he underlying foundation of
the day to .day life of the Israel Comonwealth. It
will be a difficult task, for in the excitement of
newly WOii freedom, ,there is a natural chaoti.c ten•
dency to sever all ties with the past .and to seek
entirely new paths. for the future. Hapoel ~amiz•
rachi has demonstrated its ability and · its ;deter•
mi.nation in serving the Yishuv through all ·the_se
. trying years. It looks to the future with confidence
and_ with full cognizance of all difficulties to be
encountered. · .
It follows directly thai: Hapoel Hamizri:ichi .na·
tioniilly and locally, although completely severed
from HapoeJ Hamizrachi in Israel politically, have
the same ideological goals for Israel -as ·well as for .
the fuller development of the -Jewish communities ..J
of the Diaspora. Torah Judaism intelligently pro.·
motel everywhere is now our primary _concern. We
mu~t strengthen ourselves in · numbers and , ~ac!·
lities so that we can, unhampered l:Jy budget hm1,
tations, discharge our _responsibilities to _the .devel-
.·opment · of Israel, to the strengthening of Hapoel
Hainizrachi ideals in Eretz Israel, and to the vigor-
ous revitaiization of a healthy Jewish life in our
c~mmunity. To the materiali,zation · of .these goals
in.the · coming epic years, we humbly dedicate o?-r ·
every effort. May the Almighty grant ,us the WIS·
dom ·. and strength to be worthy of serving in
Israel's rebirth. THE SHOFAR
(i'. ;. '