A program to counter what was described as “continuing anti-Israel and anti-Zionist propaganda” on the campuses and among other sectors of American life was announced by the American Zionist Federation last night. According to AZF president Rabbi Israel Miller, the program is designed “to promote a better understanding and knowledge of Zionism and the role of Israel in the furtherance of peace and Jewish survival.”
Rabbi Miller said one of the first moves will be to expand the distribution of books, literature and fact sheets among the estimated 400,000 Jewish students on the campuses dealing with the issues and background of Israel’s emergence as an independent state, and a deeper analysis of the evolution and meaning of Zionism as a movement aimed at instilling a sense of Jewish identity among Jewish youth.
Among books already published or promoted by the AZF now being distributed on campuses and to college libraries are: “Israel’s Fight for Life” by Harry Milt, former news editor and managing editor of the Washington Times Herald; “True/False About Israel” by Dr. Jacob R. Rubin, author and former correspondent at the UN; “Border Kibbutz” by Michael Gorkin, who was active in neighborhood poverty programs in East Harlem; “Encounter with Israel” by Dr. A. Roy Eckardt, Professor of Religion at Lehigh University co-authored with his wife, Alice.
Rabbi Miller said, “We are particularly concerned with the large, if somewhat diminishing, number of alienated Jewish youth who are either uninformed or misinformed on their heritage and who are prone to fall prey to the blandishments of the spurious propaganda of Israel’s enemies.”
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