The American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith have announced creation of a joint consultation committee, citing the need for increased cooperation at a time when “emerging Arab power challenges the political security of Israel and poses threats to many other segments of the world Jewish community.”
In making the announcement, Seymour Graubard, ADL chairman, and Elmer L. Winter, AJ Committee president, said the new committee would seek to strengthen and increase long-standing cooperation. They stressed the “extraordinary resources available to Arab propagandists as a consequence of Arab oil extortion,” and said that “the danger of the new Arab leverage requires us to use our resources in the most efficient and coordinated manner.” The new committee, they said, will “share information, do joint planning and act as a clearance center for new projects.”
The committee is made up of three lay leaders from each community relations agency and the professional administrator of each agency. The AJ Committee is represented by Theodore Ellenoff, chairman of the board of trustees; Richard Maass, chairman of the board of governors; Daniel S. Shapiro, president of the New York City chapter, and Bertram H. Gold, executive vice-president.
The ADL is represented by Nathan C. Belth, co-chairman of the national public relations committee; Maxwell Dane, a national commissioner and chairman of the national program committee; Seymour Reich, a national commissioner, co-chairman of the European affairs committee and chairman of the New York regional board; and Benjamin R. Epstein, director.
The new cooperative effort grew out of a meeting of a special AJ Committee-ADL committee on interrelationships in Chicago last October. Delegates to the Chicago meeting also agreed to set up special committees to study ways the two agencies might jointly increase their effectiveness. The officials said the first areas to be considered for that goal are foreign affairs, fact-finding and interreligious affairs. They said a special study also will be made of the operations of the two agencies in three metropolitan centers.
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