Upa, JDC Issue Statements on United Jewish Appeal

The United Palestine Appeal today issued the following statement regarding an invitation addressed to it by the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds to attend a meeting on Dec. 27 for the purpose of further consideration of a United Jewish Appeal for 1941:

“In the statement attributed to Mr. Sidney Hollander in the Jewish Telegraphic Agency Bulletin of Dec. 27 it is not pointed out that the United Palestine Appeal accepted the invitation of the Council of Federations to participate in a meeting on Dec. 17 at which time representatives of the United Palestine Appeal, the Joint Distribution Committee and the Council were present. There was a prolonged discussion lasting several hours during which the United Palestine Appeal made a substantial concession for the sake of unity which was not accepted.

“The Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, although recognizing that negotiations were in progress between the United Palestine Appeal and the Joint Distribution Committee, waited two moths, during which negotiations dragged on, without doing anything in the situation. This was unlike the attitude which the Council adopted in previous years.

“When negotiations finally broke down, the Council stepped into the picture and asked for a conference. In the meantime the position originally taken by the Joint Distribution Committee at a meeting with the United Palestine Appeal on Oct. 31 had not changed. Despite that fact, however, the United Palestine Appeal accepted the invitation of the Council to participate in a final session. When no other proposals were forthcoming the Administrative Committee of the United Palestine adopted its decision to undertake an independent campaign. The fact that no agreement could be reached was fully demonstrated in the joint statement issued on Dec. 24 by Rabbi Jonah B. Wise and Dr. Abba Hillel Silver announcing the dissolution of the United Jewish Appeal.

“The United Palestine Appeal is conducting a campaign for $12,000,000 in 1941. It trusts that these needs will be met. It is the function of the Council of Federations, representing all points of view in the community, to share with the United Palestine Appeal and the Joint Distribution Committee in the task of impressing upon the Jews of America that greater generosity must be forthcoming in 1941 to meet our common requirements.”

Paul Baerwald and Edward M.M. Warburg, chairman and co-chairman of the Joint Distribution Committee, telegraphed the following message to key Jewish leaders throughout the country:

“We of the Joint Distribution Committee are anxious to present the picture of our needs and our general campaign problems, but not until the expiration of the 1940 United Jewish Appeal. Thereafter we can consider all the facts, together with colleagues and community leaders throughout the country, in ample time to meet our responsibilities in these critical days both as Americans and as Jews. We urge that no one commit himself or his community to programs or budgets until the American Jewish responsibility can be studied and appraised as a whole.”