DETERMINED TO MAKE RECESSION NO OBSTACLE FOR JEWISH RELIEF
“We were determined, ” Mr. Fisher said, “that we could not pass up the second chance which history has given us to save the remnant of the Jews of Poland and to afford them the opportunity of a new life in Israel. We realized that business conditions could not become an obstacle to our completing the program of integration for the Jews who had started their new life in Israel in 1957.
“We decided that not one child should be denied a Jewish education in our community schools; that not one old person should lose the benefits of the fine facilities of our Home for Aged; that not one youngster should be denied a camp vacation because of what the economists called ‘a business recession,’ ” Mr. Fisher emphasized.
Isidore Sobeloff, executive vice-president of the Federation, commenting on the results of the campaign, stated: “The campaign army rallied around the theme that support of domestic and overseas causes was an ‘all weather’ responsibility and not merely a ‘fair weather’ gesture to be made only when conditions of relative affluence prevail.
“It is significant,” Mr. Sobeloff pointed out “that instead of anticipated resistance because of adverse business conditions, six out of every ten contributors maintained their former peak level of giving, three out of every ten actually increased to new heights of generosity and only one gave less. This, we feel, is the result of many years of solid building and reflects the results of effective welfare fund organization in a well-knit united community respectful of the needs at home, in Europe and in Israel.”
Dr. Joseph J. Schwartz, executive chairman of the Israel Bond Organization and former executive head of the United Jewish Appeal who was the principal guest speaker, lauded the Detroit Jewish Community for its generosity. He indicated that the new tragic situation in Russia may offer an opportunity “to renew our ties with our brethren there.” “We must be prepared, he said, “for greater efforts to accomplish the task of rescue and rehabilitation in the near future.”
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.
