The Maccabaean

Thanks are due the Zionist Organization of America, and especially the Department of Education, for a sustaining impetus that tided the collegiate organization through the ruts and narrow passes of the transition.

April marked the occasion of the National Conference of the Intercollegiate Zionist Association. There followed plans for the I. Z. A. Agricultural course, the projection of a series of lectures, the receptions for summer students, and the preparation of bibliographies and translations.

The plans of spring were fulfilled in summer. The National Farm School, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was the seat of learning for the Agricultural Course. Fifteen students availed themselves of the opportunity, and one of the number registered in the fall for the full four year course. Couple Zionism with intensive agriculture and you have the dream of a plenteous Palestinian harvest come true.

Soul went in for cultivation as well as body. During the six weeks the following Jewish activities were conducted by the Zionists with a splendid regeneration of Jewish spirit as the result:

1. A number of outings that permitted the bursting of formal bonds and the establishment of those summer friendships that help so much. Incidentally the spirit of Zionism was ever present. 2. A daily class in Hebrew conducted by Mr. Leon Herbert. j 3. A series of lectures on Jewish History, by Dr. A. L. Dushkin. 4. Friday evening assemblies devoted to the singing of Jewish songs and the reading of Jewish literature both in Yiddish and in English. 5. An illustrated talk on the life of Dr. Theodore Herzl, by Dr. H. L. Duskkin.

6. The contribution of a sum of $200 toward the improvement of the I. Z. A. students’ quarters. The gift accepted, the building was formally dedicated and named “Zionist Hall.” This undoubtedly will serve as a concrete connecting link between the Intercollegiate Zionist Association and the National Farm School.

Lectures and summer are often apt to mix like vinegar and water. But the I. Z. A. lecture course of last summer tended to disprove this. Take the Columbia and City College of New York Chapters as examples. Professor Montague, of the Columbia Faculty of Philosophy, started the series with an address on “Dual Allegiance.” He was succeeded by Dr. Dushkin, Mr. Israel Goldberg, Rabbi Louis I. Newman and Mr. Marvin Lowenthal. City College was addressed by Mr. Emanuel Neumann and Dr. Max Radin.

I. Z. A. had to receive its summer students—it did not wish to forego such a pleasant opportunity. The United Synagogue appreciated this fact, and through the courtesy of Mrs. Solomon Schecter of that organization, and an anonymous friend of I. Z. A. placed the New York Students' House at its disposal. Four receptions were held and 130 students joined in the festivities. The outsiders numbered 58; good record, but not enough.

Our confrères across the sea are, colloquially speaking, "sharks" on bibliographical work. I. Z. A. entered into a fairly successful competition with them last summer. At the instance of the Z. O. A. Department of Education I. Z. A. students, especially those of the Jewish Theological Seminary, undertook the preparation of bibliographies on various phases of the Zionist movement, together with the indexing of Zionist Periodicals. Then, too, the Harvard Zionist Society began a series of briefs for Zionist debates for use in Young Judea and other clubs.

The Midwest Conference at Chicago on September 16, ended the summer activities, and was held in conjunction with the Zionist Convention. The purpose was an attempt at strengthening Collegiate Zionist societies in the Middle West. It is a fundamental problem which needs much constructive thought and action. But 119 collegiates hailing from Chicago, Ann Arbor, Detroit, Cleveland, Milwaukee, Minneapolis—do not look very much like a hopeless case for Midwestern activity, and they are not. The outlook is promising, especially, as a result of the Conference, in Chicago, Milwaukee and Cincinnati. Chicago's Dental College began the stride, and a Chicago Intervarsity is the prospect for this year. Distance may overawe the timid, but I. Z. A. is not timid. The Brown, Clark and St. Louis Chapters are reorganizing.

"Le Groupe des Etudiants Sionists de Paris." That is French, and the "Groupe" is in France, thanks to the efforts of Dr. Aaron Schaffer, ex-president of the I. Z. A. It is the keystone organization in France. It is a new link in the ever-lengthening chain of Zionist Societies all over the world. It is just another step forward in the direction of an International Zionist Student Organization. Holland, Switzerland, Germany, and Austria are links of long standing.

Then, too, there was the field work of the past eleven months, conducted by a decidedly representative personnel, including Miss Szold, Mr. Jacob de Haas, Dr. Nisan Turoff and Mr. I. Wilkansky. An I. Z. A. field worker is an aspiration for the coming summer.

The rôle of I. Z. A. in Young Judaea affairs is not to be minimized. Many of the most active I. Z. A. members are Young Judaea leaders, especially in Washington, where the chapter has the monopoly. At Hunter College, New York a leaders' course has been organized. I. Z. A. is ready and anxious to help all such societies to the utmost degree.

All these accomplishments and plans are in retrospect. They are encouraging, but far from sufficient in breadth or penetration. The forecast is primarily of two parts: first, concerning the continuation of things already done; second, of things to be done. The coming year will be marked by the growth of past endeavors, and something more: the fulfillment of new plans.

The I. Z. A. Palestine Fellowship is the first plan. It is an attempt to maintain a student in Palestine for study. It has taken root in the hearts of all those to whom word of it has come. The spring, it is hoped, shall see the beginning of a concrete effort in that direction. This fellowship is of paramount importance, and its accomplishment by I. Z. A. means a great feather in our cap, and an infinite satisfaction in our soul.

An impressive Kadimah (the I. Z. A. annual publication to which any student or graduate in the country is invited to contribute) is the second plan. This publication must reflect the best of Zionist student thought, it must become a most important factor in American Jewry.

A contribution to Jewish Dramatic Literature, both Juvenile and Adult, is the third plan. There is a pronounced need for it. A national playwriting contest is one suggestion for satisfying that need. The drama is a means of bringing home all sorts of ideas—from art to economics, from religion to politics. It is publicity idealized. We need a great deal of publicity.

The best thing about I. Z. A. is that there is so much for it to do. That is the best thing about any organization. We do not believe in resting upon our few laurels. We do not believe in mere theoretical speculation. It is the constructive in life that makes for happiness.