Sidney Hollander, president of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, today issued the following statement replying to the Committee on the Referendum for Budgeting:
“The referendum on the proposal to extend the present budget advisory services of the Council has been completed and the Council has adopted a program which it considers a fair compromise of opposing views.
“I see nothing to be gained from entering into a controversy with Mr. Simon, Shetzer, the chairman of the self-constituted group known as the Committee on the Referendum for Budgeting. For one thing, I hold Mr. Shetzer personally in too high esteem. For another, it must be remembered that Mr. Shetzer’s committee is only a voluntary association of persons who speak only as individuals; they were not selected by Jewish communities to represent theme in this or any other matter. Despite that, however, the board of the Council gave careful consideration to their views, as well as to those of all others who expressed them.
“But while the Council respects all such views, in reaching decisions it can act only in response to the recorded action of its own member agencies. Since it was organized in 1932, voting on all matters has been limited to such member agencies; cities, as such don’t vote. The same method and distribution of votes was followed in determining the result of the recent referendum as would apply in all other cases.
“The board of directors made every effort to ascertain in this referendum the views of the widest possible cross-section of organized Jewish community opinion. The committee of tellers considered every vote received, even though a few members acted after the final closing date set for the referendum.
“For several months, Mr. Shetzer and his associates carried on a very aggressive campaign of propaganda against the referendum in an attempt to make it appear that it was directed against certain ‘ideologies.’ On this unsound assumption they did their best to influence member agencies to vote against it. Despite that I have no criticism of their action, for though I do not agree with their point of view, I am willing to assume that their opinion was sincerely meant.
“But now the matter has been decided. As far as I am concerned, and as far as the board of the Council is concerned, the controversy ended when the tellers counted their ballots and made their report. It would seem good judgment on the part of all concerned to retain an open mind as to the services the Council plans to develop. These services are for 1941 only. Further developments will be taken only as they prove of value to the agencies themselves. So it is really not important what I say, or what Mr. Shetzer says; the services will speak for themselves.”
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.
