Leaders of Jewish Federations Discuss Community Problems at Conference in St. Louis

Resolutions urging that Jewish communities meet their responsibilities to fellow Jews overseas to the fullest measure of their resources, and calling for accelerated strengthening of local Jewish community organizations in America as the foundation for saving world Jewry, were adopted by the 12th annual West-Central Regional Assembly of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds which closed in St. Louis yesterday.

The Assembly, noting the generous response this year to all Jewish overseas, national and local needs, expressed confidence that each community could be entrusted with responsibility for appraising and meeting equitably all necessary requirements in accordance with changing conditions. The conference called for the strengthening of actually helpful cooperation among communities through the Council.

The conference was the largest ever held in this area, with more than 200 delegations from 17 communities in Iowa, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota and Wisconsin. At the conclusion of the conference, Avery Carp of Granite City, Ill., was elected regional president; I.S. Joseph of Minneapolis, Irving Rhodes of Milwaukee and David Hearsh of St. Louis, vice-presidents. Dr. Salo Baron of Columbia University, H.L. Lurie, executive director of the Council, and Henry Montor of the United Jewish Appeal who attended the conference form New York City were the principal speakers.

SESSIONS CONSIDER COORDINATION OF SOCIAL SERVICE PROGRAMS

The sessions of the assembly considered community organization trends and the coordination of social service programs including health, services to the aged, Jewish education, community relations and budgeting.

During the sessions, Samuel L. Goldsmith, executive director of the Chicago Jewish Charities, led the large city representatives in discussions on “Problems in Jewish Community Organization Structure” and “Problems in Providing Group Work Service,” For the smaller communities, discussions on these topics were led by Max J. Lipkin, president of the Jewish Community Council of Peoria. In the latter group, “Problems in Jewish Education” was substituted for group work.

Philip Bernstein, of New York, director of the Council’s field service, was discussion leader for members of the large city group, who exchanged views and experiences concerning health needs and the needs of the aged. Henry Sheskin, vice-president of the Kansas City Jewish Federation and Council, led the discussion following Prof. Baron’s address, while Maurice Bernstein, executive director of the Southern Illinois Jewish Federation, summarized the discussion sessions held by the large and smaller communities respectively.