150 delegates from 40 countries participated in the first Keren Hayesod World Conference, held on December 20, 1960 in Jerusalem. President Itzhak Ben-Zvi and Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion delivered greetings. Various figures were presented: $700 million – the amount raised by Keren Hayesod since the birth of the state, the absorption of 970,000 immigrants and the establishment of 485 settlements in the previous 12 years alone. The Conference passed a series of resolutions, among them the establishment of a 24-member World Council and a target of raising a billion dollars in the next decade. Since then, Keren Hayesod’s annual World Conference has become a tradition. The encounters among different delegates enabled Keren Hayesod to adapt to new times that require new methods of action, to continue to accommodate itself to new periods and to successfully move new initiatives forward . Once a year, hundreds of delegates from different countries and continents gather in one place, listen to each other, exchange ideas and discuss Keren Hayesod’s modus operandi. And who knows? Perhaps they also make new friends or find potential mates.
Photo: The first Keren Hayesod World Conference in Jerusalem, December 20, 1960