U.S. Jewish Groups Call Emergency Parley on East European Emigration

The presidents of 19 major national Jewish organizations have issued an urgent call to their top leadership in communities across the United States to Join in a special conference which will deal with the emergency situation created by a sudden emigration of Jews from Eastern Europe. The meeting is to take place in New York on Sunday, February 15. All the deliberations will be conducted in executive session.

Organizations participating in the call to the conference are as follows: American Jewish Committee, American Jewish Congress, American Zionist Committee for Public Affairs, American Zionist Council, B’nai B’rith, Hadassah, Jewish Agency for Israel, Jewish Labor Committee, Jewish War Veterans of the United States, Labor Zionist Assembly, National Committee for Labor Israel, National Council of Jewish Women, National Council of Young Israel, Religious Zionist Movement Mizrachi-Hapoel Hamizrachi, United Roumanian Jews of America, Union of American Hebrew Congregations, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, United Synagogue of America, and Zionist Organization of America.

A nationwide telephone hook-up giving close to 10, 000 Jewish leaders in more than 100 communities across the country a report on last-minute developments in the fast-moving East European immigration crisis will take place on Monday, February 9. The unique leader-to-leader communication was set up by the United Jewish Appeal as part of its 1959 campaign activity.

Coming two days after the UJA’s Inaugural Conference in Miami Beach, at which more than 1, 000 key Jewish figures from all sections of the United States are expected to set the urgent pace and standard of giving for the 1959 campaign, the telephone report will be given by Morris W. Berinstein, general chairman of the UJA, and Rabbi Herbert A. Friedman, UJA executive vice-chairman. The latter has just returned from a trip to East Europe. He will give an eyewitness report of the huge migration from that area to Israel.