A three-point program sharply defining the activities of the American Jewish Committee at home and abroad for the coming years was adopted today at the concluding session of the three-day 43rd annual meeting of the organization. Jacob Blaustein was reelected president for 1950.
On the national scene, the A.J.C. decided to lay the major emphasis on the establishment of permanent long-range programs for bettering group relations, while at the same time continuing to exercise vigilance against all overt anti-Semitism and other forms of prejudice.
Overseas, the A.J.C. decided to concentrate on helping the foreign Jewish communities to rebuild their communal, social and economic structures and to strengthen their basic security. The existence of Israel was taken into consideration in formulating this decision.
On the Jewish community level in the United States, the conference voted to concentrate on building up attitudes of confidence in the permanence and security of Jewish living, "justified by the realities and social potentialities of American democracy."
BLAUSTEIN RIDICULES CHARGES OF "DOUBLE LOYALTY"
The 700 delegates at the parley, representing the Jewish leadership of 50 major cities throughout the country, heard Mr. Blaustein reaffirm, in his presidential address, the principle that U.S. Jews will always help Israel, but will consider themselves Americans. He ridiculed charges of "double loyalty" advanced by some elements in America in connection with the interest which American Jews have taken in Israel.
Declaring that Jews "have a particularly vital stake in the continued progress of a vigorous democracy," Mr. Blaustein said: "We have this stake as human beings in an insecure world which is interdependent; we have this stake as Americans, seeking to protect and advance the free institutions of our country; we have it as Jews, who know the future of Jews in the United States and in every other country in the world, depends upon the soundness of American democracy."
Dr. John Slawson, who was reelected executive vice-president, urged participation in the human relations programs carried on by groups other than the Jewish community as a vital factor in furthering A.J.C. objectives. "Jews and other Americans must combine in the work of helping to produce the kind of American we want," he said.
Indicating that discrimination in employment, higher education and housing are the major problems of concern to the Committee, Dr. Slawson said: "It is useless to debate which is more important in the advance of civil rights: law or education, because all civil rights progress in the past has been achieved through a combination of moral purpose, education and law enforcement. That is why we are interested not only in new legislation, but also in the enforcement of laws already on the books and in court decisions which influence this law enforcement.
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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.
