The seventh general assembly of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds closed tonight with a dinner at the Statler Hotel. Scheduled speakers included Melvyn Douglas, the screen actor; William Haber director of the National Refugee Service, and Sidney Hollander, newly-reelected president of the Council, who presided.
Business sessions during the day featured discussions of “Financing Overseas Programs in 1940,” with William J. Shroder presiding: “The Approach to 1940 Fund-Raising,” Isidore Sobeloff presiding; “Local Organization for Refugee Service,” Joseph P. Loeb presiding, and “Jewish Education in the Federation Program,” Mark Eisner, presiding.
Addressing a luncheon session Sunday, Dr. Chaim Weizmann called upon Jews to be prepared to defend the Jewish position at the ultimate peace conference and pleaded against creating a permanent refugee status for the Jews. He described Palestine as the one place where the Jews no longer continue as refugees but find a home, adding that Palestine and America were the only two “wholesome spots,” with the rest of the world a void between them. He said a strong Palestine would create the possibility of negotiations with the Arabs, as well as eventual settlement of large numbers of Jews in Arab territories.
Speaking at a session on present-day trends in welfare work, Harry Greenstein, of Baltimore, declared that the Government relief program had had a profound influence on private social work. He said that although in some types of welfare activity, the Government program had served to lesson burdens of private agencies, shifting Government policies brought about recurring crises in some sections of the country. In such crises, Greenstein pointed out, private welfare agencies were deluged with appeals for help. He said that such difficulties were bound to continue until the scope of the public welfare program is broadened and adequate public funds are made available.
Sidney Hollander, of Baltimore, was re-elected president of the Council at the business session yesterday. Other officers re-elected were: William J. Shroder, chairman of the board; William Rosenwald, Henry Wineman, Ira M. Younker, vice-presidents; Elias Mayer, secretary, and Solomon Lowenstein, treasurer. Fred M. Butzel, Detroit, and James L. White, Salt Lake City, were elected to the board.
The American ORT Federation and the American Jewish Congress held dinners here last night in conjunction with the Council sessions. Speakers at the ORT banquet included Lord Marley, Dr. David Lvovitch, Louis B. Boudin and Mrs. Edward Gresser, who joined in outlining the importance of the organization’s work before 200 guests.
At the Congress dinner, 150 delegates heard Dr. Nahum Goldmann, the guest of honor, declare that relief, while important, was not decisive. He urged that formular and programs be found for permanent solution of Jewish European problems after the next peace and advised that the facilities of the World Jewish Congress be utilized for preparation of such a program.
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.
