American Jewish Commitment to Youth Stressed at Hadassah Convention

The commitment of American Jewry to the Jewish youth in this country was stressed today at the Hadassah convention here by Mrs. Rose Halprin, former national president of Hadassah and member of the executive of the Jewish Agency for Israel.

“We fail to meet our commitments to our youth if we fail to make available to them the facilities for understanding the heritage which we demand that they safeguard,” she said. “The heritage of the Jews,” she pointed out, “will be preserved for future generations only if each generation produces Jews who wish to preserve this heritage. And insofar as each religious group in the United States makes available such facilities for its youth, America will be enriched with the unique contributions that each grab can make.

“The Jewish commitment to youth is to transmit the common cultural heritage from one generation to another. This is the commitment of all peoples. Having said this, I want to emphasize that I believe that America is strong because of its diverse cultural patterns and the most powerful deterrent to complacent conformism is the responsibility of each cultural group to emphasize its distinctiveness.

“The highest level of excellence is required in every education venture, “Mrs. Halprin continued. “Nothing less will do, Jewish educational institutions should set as their objective to give Jewish youth the best possible Jewish education. This means more than a knowledge of Hebrew. It means, too, a knowledge and understanding of Jewish history and the universal values which made it possible for the Jewish people to survive for four thousand years, despite persecution, oppression and wholesale slaughter.”

CONVENTION ADOPTS $9, 888, 500 BUDGET; RE-ELECTS MRS. KRAMARKSY

The convention today re-elected Mrs. Siegfried Kramarsky, of New York, as national president of Hadassah for a second one-year term. The delegates also adopted a budget of $9, 888, 500 for its 1961-62 programs in Israel and the United States and unanimously approved a statement supporting proposed measures by the Kennedy Administration for foreign aid, establishment of a United States disarmament agency for world peace and security, and suspension of nuclear testing with international inspection and a monitory system.

Of the $9, 888, 500 budgeted for Hadassah activities, $8, 340, 000 was earmarked for Hadassah’s operations in Israel. The quotas set for Hadassah’s projects in Israel were $3, 740, 000 for the Hadassah Medical Organization; $2, 300, 000 for Youth Aliyah; $1, 000, 000 for continued construction of the Hadassah-Hebrew University Medical Center in Israel; $700, 000 for the Jewish National Fund; and $600, 000 for Hadassah’s vocational education program in Israel.

Avraham Harman, Israel Ambassador to the United States, addressing the convention, challenged the sincerity of the Arab states whose leaders make “fine speeches about peace in every part of the world” as they engage “in their own area in continuously raising the level of armaments.” He reaffirmed Israel’s desire for peace with its Arab neighbors and throughout the world.

“People normally talk of an Arab-Israel conflict as though this were a mutual conflict,” Ambassador Harman said. “It isn’t. No one in Israel seeks the destruction or elimination of the Arab states. Israel is not anti-Arab. There are, unfortunately, countries in the Middle East whose leaders make fine speeches about peace in every part of the world, but who recoil in horror from the very thought of peace with Israel.

“These same countries will no doubt go before the United Nations to plead for world disarmament while engaged in their own area in continuously raising the level of armaments. Israel does not share these views. Its mind and heart are open for peace. We do not agree that while peace is a noble vision for the whole world it is a dirty word in the Middle East. We believe that peace is a vital need for all the countries of the Middle East, for the Arab states and Israel alike.”

Mrs. Mortimer Jacobs on of the Bronx, N. Y., was today re-elected national treasurer of Hadassah. Mrs. Murray M. Shernoff of Harrison, N. Y., and Mrs. Walter Brecher of Woodmere, N.Y., were elected national secretary and recording secretary, respectively. Elected to national vice-presidencies were Mrs. Harry P. Fierst of New York City; Mrs. Sidney Munter of Pittsburgh; and Mrs. Schenk of Brooklyn, N.Y. Re-elected to similar posts were Mrs. Louis D. Levinthal of Philadelphia; Mrs. Irving Macc of New York City; and Mrs. Carl Spector of Brookline, Massachusetts.