A 14-member delegation of the American Jewish Committee left for London today to participate in a five-day conference on matters affecting Jewish communities in Western Europe and North Africa. The conference which will open next Sunday, is sponsored jointly by the American Jewish Committee. Anglo-Jewish Association of Britain and Alliance Israelite Universelle of France. More than 80 Jewish leaders from various countries are expected to participate in the parley, at which the following subjects will be discussed:
1. The relation of Jewish communities to their environment. Anti-Semitic activities and the more veiled forms of anti-Jewish feeling left as a heritage of Nazism will be considered. The Conference will deal with means to combat such legal and social discrimination as now exists against Jews and will seek ways to further better relations between Jews and non-Jews.
2. The fight for human rights. Advances by the United Nations and other international agencies in protecting human rights and combating discrimination generally will be weighed along with the possibilities of further constructive action in this sphere.
3. The strengthening of Jewish religious, educational and cultural life including overcoming the shortage of qualified rabbis, teachers and social workers.
4. The best methods of effecting cooperation between the Jewish communities of Western Europe and those of the United States and other overseas countries, and with the State of Israel.
5. The financial and material resources available for Jewish community needs, and the best way of utilizing them. A central point in this discussion will be the role of the Conference on Jewish Material Claims Against Germany, which is expected to make a major contribution to Jewish community development during the next decade.
Irving M. Engel, president of the American Jewish Committee, and Jacob Blaustein, honorary president, will lead the AJC delegation at the conference. Other members of the delegation include; Dr. Isador Lubin, New York State Industrial Commissioner; James Marshall, former president of the New York City Board of Education; Dr. John Slawson, AJC executive vice-president; Ely M. Aaron of Chicago; Herbert B. Ehrmann of Boston; Prof. Herman A. Gray of New York, and others. The Board of Deputies of British Jews has refused to send delegates and criticism has been levelled at the parley by some Zionist circles.
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