Contributions exceeding $7,150,000, the largest sum ever collected in the initial stages of a United Jewish Appeal drive in any city, were announced here tonight at the opening dinner of the U.J.A. of Greater New York. The sun was raised in the less than five weeks since February 1.
The guest of honor at the dinner was Edward M.M. Warburg, who became general chairman of the 1951 national U.J.A. after having served six times as head of the New York appeal. In recognition of his services to Jewry, Mr. Warburg was presented with an early American silver box. Messages of appreciation of his role were received from Israel’s President Chaim Weizmann and Premier David Ben Gurion.
United States Senator Herbert H. Lehman, principal speaker at the dinner, told the 500 guests that the campaign deserves a speedier and more generous response than ever before. He said: “This year, time has become our enemy in the struggle to save human lives. In the face of the tensions which grip the world, in the face of arbitrary emigration deadlines, in the face of economic crisis in Israel, we must act quickly.” Louis Broido, a general chairman of the New York drive, presided in the absence of Henry Morgenthau, Jr., who was ill. Among the guests was Israeli Minister for Religious Rabbi Judah L. Maimon.
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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.