A quota of $2,500,000 as New York’s share in the $6,000,000 Allied Jewish Campaign, was agreed upon by close to one hundred of the leading figures in the communal and philanthropic life of the metropolis, at a dinner meeting held at the Hotel Biltmore last Thursday night.
Simultaneously, national headquarters announced that the quota for the rest of the state had been fixed at $350,000, making the entire quota for the Empire State $2,850,000. The dinner-meeting, which marked the inauguration of New York City’s Allied Jewish Campaign, was called by Paul Baerwald, one of the national chairmen of the campaign, and Hon. Joseph M. Proskauer, who during the evening was elected honorary chairman of the “drive.”
In the address with which he opened the discussion of New York City’s participation in the campaign, Judge Proskauer, who presided, said:
“There are certain phases of this campaign upon which we are about to enter that I think must give us encouragement and hope. For the first time, all the forces of Jewry are united in this community in one common aim. I care not whether you be devout Jew, observant or non-observant, whether you be Orthodox or Reformed, whether you be anti-Zionist or Zionist or a non-Zionist, the purposes of this campaign must appeal to every man and woman in whose veins Jewish blood runs.
“We are for the first time in a communal endeavor of this sort presenting a united front. I wonder if we all quite realize what that common urge of race means and should mean to us.
“Gentlemen, let there be no escape with us and no desire for an escape. And let the loyalty of our own brethren, which is our heritage, and which has come down to us through the ages as the great distinction of the Jewish people, their impulse, in their desire to care for their own—let that urge us on, not as a fury but as an inspiration here at this time.”
Judge Proskauer then read the following cablegram to the meeting from Felix M. Warburg:
“Encouraged by attitude and spirit of Jewish Agency administration but even more so by what prime minister and leaders of other parties have stated publicly, feel that period of prophesies, statements and fears is over and that constructive steps should be the order of the day. Get people to furnish us the means to do progressive things benefitting different lands and groups and ways will be found for harmonious cooperation; the more united and generous we are the more hope that we gain the respect and understanding of leaders of other faiths and governments. Good luck in your efforts.”
Messages were also received from Lieut. Governor Lehman and Morris Rothenberg, one of the national chairmen.
David M. Bressler, also one of the national chairmen, was the first to strike the note of optimism that animated the meeting, as he reported the progress of the Allied Jewish Campaign nationally.
Judge William Lewis of Philadelphia, another of the “big four” of the campaign, announced that preparations for a drive in his city would begin the following week, and said: “There is no doubt that your investment in this campaign will bring immediate results to thousands and tens of thousands of beneficiaries and it is bound to bring tremendous satisfaction to you.”
Senator Nathan Straus, Jr., the next speaker, brought the greetings of his father.
Other speakers included Judge Albert Cohn, who pledged the support of the Bronx Jewish community, and Judge Mitchell May, who gave assurance that Brooklyn Jewry would do its full duty, James Rosenberg, Judge Otto Rosalsky, I. D. Morrison, Sol M. Stroock, former president of the Federation, and Jonah J. Goldstein.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
