A check for $25,000 to aid earthquake victims in the northeast section of Italy has been presented by Jack D. Weiler, chairman of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, and Ralph I. Goldman executive vice-chairman to Consul General Vieri Traxler at the Italian Consulate here. Weiler has also offered to send JDC welfare specialists as volunteers to work in the stricken area.
In accepting the check last Thursday. Traxler said “I wish to express to the JDC board our very sincere gratitude. The only silver lining in tragedies such as this is that they bring out the best in most human beings and the Jewish community is demonstrating once more its dedication to international brotherhood.”
When informed of the gift and offer of volunteers, Roberto Gaja, Italy’s Ambassador to the United States, said: “I am touched and grateful to the Jewish community for the gesture and it is appreciated by my government. I shall convey this to the Minister of Foreign Affairs and to the President of the Republic.”
In making the presentation, Weller said: “We join with the Italian people and people everywhere in mourning the death of over 900 people and the terrible destruction that has made over 100,000 people homeless in the city of Udine and the surrounding area. This gift is a token of the deep sympathy of the American Jewish community for the victims and its friendship for the Italian people,” There were no reports of any Jewish casualties.
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.
