A delegation of American Jewish welfare fund and federation leaders completed today an 18-day visit to the State of Israel which their leader, Herbert Abeles, president of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, called “exceptionally constructive.” This was the first delegation sent by the CJFWF to Israel since the country’s establishment.
Mr. Abeles asserted that as a result of talks between the American communal leaders and officials he felt the CJFWF “should be able to work more closely with Israeli officials who are responsible for the most effective use of the funds which federations transmit through the United Jewish Appeal and other channels.”
The delegation’s impressions of Israel and the recommendations it will make will be developed in a written report to some 800 American Jewish communities. Members of the delegation were chiefly interested in Israel’s movement toward economic independence. Their discussions with responsible Israeli officials were centered about how this development will affect the amount of assistance required from American Jewry.
Mr. Abeles said that the reparations income due Israel from Germany and the repayments which Israel must make within the next four or five years on bonds sold since 1951 were the background of the talks. The Americans held some 25 separate talks with top Israeli officials in the past two and a half weeks, including two long conferences with Premier David Ben Gurion.
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.
