Agudas Yisroel of Europe's annual conference ended early this
week at the Normandie Hotel in Bournemouth, England with
calls for increased public activity in all spheres of Jewish
life in Europe.
The heavily attended conference, organized by Rabbi Yitzchok
Meir Zimmerman of Agudas Yisroel of Britain, left a strong
imprint on the participants following four days of activities
together with gedolei Torah.
On Friday afternoon a meeting on safrus was held,
including a film on the craft. Speakers included the session
chairman, Rabbi Yaakov Shoenberg, treasurer of the Kedassiya
kashrus organization, HaRav Moshe Levy and HaRav Binyomin
Eckstein, a dayan and moreh tzedek for Belz of
London.
On Shabbos the tefillos and lectures were held in a
special tent set up on the hotel grounds. The conference-
goers were greeted after Kabbolas Shabbos by Rabbi Zimmerman,
who said the conference would focus on strengthening
Yiddishkeit, raising the banner of Torah and elevating
kvod Shomayim in the world.
He was followed by HaRav Pinchos Shneibalg, rosh yeshiva of
Yeshivas Vishnitz Letze'irim in London, who spoke of the
importance of drawing together to sanctify the Name of Heaven
and to spur the participants in Torah study and mitzvah
observance, while helping to bear the burden and
responsibility for Klal Yisroel.
The Sunday morning session, which focused on the state of
Yiddishkeit and unadulterated Jewish education in Eretz
Yisroel, was led by Rabbi Joe Lobenstein, deputy chairman of
Agudas Yisroel of Britain. Rav Yosef Lazerson, one of the
heads of Chinuch Atzmai, delivered a stirring speech on the
crisis faced by the pure Torah education system in Eretz
Hakodesh and his battles against ranking officials in the
Education Ministry and the Justice Ministry who, with the
help of Reform figures, are forcefully trying to introduce
various foreign curricular materials into our education
system chas vesholom by imposing penalties and luring
the weak of mind and character with budgetary incentives.
Rabbi Lazerson also discussed the existential threat to
Chinuch Atzmai outreach schools caused by the severe lack of
funding for the bus program and read a call by gedolei
Yisroel expressing their deep concern over the danger of
losing over 20,000 yaldei Yisroel should the program
collapse chas vesholom. The plea was signed by HaRav
Eliashiv, HaRav Shteinman, HaRav Lefkowitz, HaRav Kanievsky,
HaRav Karelitz, the Admor of Erlau, the Admor of Belz, the
Admor of Tzanz and other gedolei Torah.
