20,000 at Chanukah Festival Pledge Support to Israel Bond Campaign

A capacity audience of 20.000 persons filled Madison Square Garden last night for the first performance of the 1970 Chanukah Festival for Israel Bonds and heard a report from William Goldfine, honorary chairman of the New York drive, that $37,204,000 in Israel Bonds have been sold in the metropolitan area thus far this year. Mr. Goldfine said that “this year’s Bond receipts represent the greatest total sold in New York in the entire history of the campaign, except for 1967. the year of the Six-Day War.” He added that “this result gives encouraging evidence that the Jewish people of New York, like the Jews throughout the United States and the rest of the free world, are united in their determination to see Israel live.” Since its inception twenty years ago, the total proceeds from the sale of Israel Bonds has amounted to approximately $1.6 billion.

Abraham Feinberg, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Israel Bond Organization, said that “an Israel stiffed, unable to grow, unable to develop, unable to absorb the millions who still must come, would be unthinkable. An Israel which can give full scope to the energy, to the creativity, to the ambition, the dynamism of its people, is the goal we have dreamed about together. To protect that dream,” he declared, “we must for the year 1971 accept the greatest challenge to our sense of responsibility in our time. It will not be easy. But it has never been easy. It was not easy in 1948, or in 1956, or in 1967.” Mr. Feinberg was referring to the projected goal of $400 million for the world-wide campaign for Israel Bonds in 1971. Outstanding American and Israeli theatre, motion picture and concert artists who participated in the Chanukah Festival last night included Alan King. Edward G. Robinson. Theodore Bikel. Jan Peerce, Nehama Lifschitz, Harra Aroni and Pinchas Zukerman.