American Jewish Committee Opens Three-day Meeting Today; Truman Commends Its Work

The work of the American Jewish Committee in fighting bigotry and promoting inter-faith goodwill is commended in a message by President Truman sent today to the Committee on the occasion of its 40th annual three-day meeting which opens tomorrow at the Hotel Commodore to discuss problems concerning Jewish life in the United States, Europe and Palestine. The message, addressed to Judge Joseph M. Proskauer, reads:

“I am glad, on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary meeting of the American Jewish Committee, to extend through you greetings to an organization which has affirmed the traditional American way of equality for all, regardless of race or creed. The American Jewish Committee’s long and honorable campaign against bigotry and prejudice, its defense of the civil and religious rights of Jews, its intervention in behalf of the rights of members of other faiths, its promotion of good will and mutual respect among Jews and Christians, form a record of which we may all be proud.

“We depend in our free country on voluntary associations of citizens for purposes of promoting the common welfare. At no time have we had a greater need of public spirit in the true sense of these words than now. On the public spirit of such organizations as the American Jewish Committee and its leaders, we depend for reinforcement of the democratic way of life. Your concern that the human rights clauses be inserted in the United Nations Charter is but one of your many acts of devotion to the vision of a better world. May you continue, with dignity and successful achievement, on the road you have traversed for forty years.”

TREATY WITH GERMANY WILL AFFECT JEWS THROUGHOUT EUROPE, GOTTSCHALK SAYS

Dr. Max Gottschalk, director of the Foreign Affairs Department of the American Jewish Committee, at a press conference today on his return from a two-years’ stay in Europe said that the position of the Jews throughout Europe “will be powerfully affected” by the kind of treaty the United Nations draw with Germany. “If the United Nations do not adopt a more positive and effective policy of eradicating Nazism and anti-Semitism in Germany, Germany will remain a center of infection for Europe and the world,” he declared.

“In all the countries of western Europe with a democratic tradition the surviving Jews are becoming integrated into the national life, politically and culturally and, more slowly, economically,” he reported. “This applies to Holland, Belgium, Italy, Greece, Norway, and Denmark as well as to the neutral countries, Switzerland and Sweden. In Eastern Europe where political and economic tensions are more acute, there is some need for emigration of Jews.

“A large number of prospective emigrants–primarily displaced persons–wish to go to Palestine. The American Jewish Committee has continued to press for immediate admission there of at least 100,000. However, other countries, including the USA, must accept their share of responsibility for giving a haven to some displaced Jews,” he said.