A resolution calling for the renewal for 1950 of a pact between the Joint Distribution Committee and the American ORT Federation whereby the former finances the activities of the ORT among Jewish refugees in Europe and North Africa was adopted at a special meeting of the board of directors of the American ORT, it was announced here today by George Backer, president of the organization.
The meeting, at which a delegation of the World ORT Union executive committee was present, also instructed its negotiating committee “to do its utmost to reach an agreement satisfactory in principle to both the World ORT Union and the American ORT Federation.” The same resolution also declared that “any agreement reached is to be reported to the executive committee of the American Ort Federation, which shall then have the full power to determine fund-raising policy for 1950.”
In a report on the World ORT program, Dr. Aron Syngalowski, chairman of the World ORT executive, said that the body had discussed the problem of assistance to Jews living outside of camps in Germany. “We decided that we would maintain schools only for those who wish to emigrate,” he stated. “The Jew who wishes to remain in Germany must take care of himself because our assisting them to remain in Germany only fosters the prevalent anti-Semitism. The Germans want the Jews to remain in Germany only to salve their consciences.” Other speakers at the meeting included Paul Dreyfus de Gunzburg, vice-president of the Swiss ORT; and Elie Eliachar, president of the Sephardic community of Jerusalem.
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.
