90-day Crash Effort Launched by Uja-fjp Joint Campaign in New York Area

Leader of the United Jewish Appeal- Federation of Jewish Philanthropies Joint Campaign, responding to an appeal radioed to them direct from Jerusalem by Premier Yitzhak Rabin, undertook yesterday a crash, 90-day effort in New York City. Westchester and Long Island to increase the funds made available for humanitarian programs in Israel and for aid to the New York Jewish community’s own needs.

The 100 New Yorkers were among 6000 American-Jewish leaders attending mid-campaign report meetings in 150 cities in 50 states, as well as Toronto. Canada, on the day before the beginning of a new fiscal year imposes upon the people of Israel new taxes, increases in the prices of necessities of life and other drastic measures.

All the meetings were linked by a closed circuit radio hookup. Presiding over the New York session was James L. Weinberg, a co-chairman of the UJA-Federation Joint Campaign. Speaking with Rabin from Jerusalem, where urgent sessions of the Jewish Agency’s Board of Governors are being held, were Agency chairman Yosef Almogi; Max Fisher, chairman of the Board of Governors; Frank R. Lautenberg. UJA general chairman; and Jerold Hoffberger, president of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds.

Under consideration at the meeting in Jerusalem are results of the sharp reduction in educational and welfare services taking effect with the beginning of Israel’s new fiscal year and a possible $90 million slash in the Jewish Agency’s own budget.

ELEMENTS IN THE ACTION PROGRAM

A major element incorporated in UJA-Federation’s 90-day action program–from April 1 to June 30– is mobilization ’76. which has already been scheduled and aims to have 19,000 volunteers reach 200,000 prospective contributors in the week of Mobilization Sunday June. 6. Heading the effort are Howard Samuels as chairman and Mrs. Elaine Winik as co-chairman.

Another element is the acceleration and intensification of volunteer activity surrounding 300 to 400 fund-raising events already scheduled for the April 1-June 30 period. Solicitation visits to contributors are to receive heavy emphasis.

Adding to the urgency of the situation in New York is the beginning today of New York State’s new fiscal year with a budget expected to add to recent reductions in government funding for health and welfare services.

“While the full impact is yet to be spelled out, it is clear that the financial situation of our Federation agencies–its hospitals, health services, family, child care and youth serving agencies and other services covering a broad spectrum of human needs in our community will become even more difficult,” Weinberger said. “How much help there will be for the poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged in our own Jewish community depends more directly than ever on the outcome of our UJA-Federation Joint Campaign.”

WARNINGS AGAINST DRASTIC REDUCTIONS

The same fears were expressed for the people of Israel during the broadcast from Jerusalem by Rabin and the American Jewish leaders. All warned that drastic reductions in the Jewish Agency’s social welfare budget, which receives the major portion of its funds from American Jewry, would result in a “belt tightening and austerity that will endanger human growth in Israel.”

Rabin characterized the financial decisions the Jewish Agency is being forced to make as “perhaps the toughest we have ever faced. What ever we decide, the consequences will be neither painless nor pleasant because they will affect the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.

Israel’s ability to grow,” he asserted, “depends not only on the strengths of our defensive posture, but on the vitality and spirit of our society. Despite all our efforts we cannot speak of a strong and viable society in Israel so long as we have not yet succeeded in bridging the social gap.”