American Jewish Congress Cancels Its Biennial Convention; Acts on O.d.t. Request

The American Jewish Congress today announced the cancellation of its biennial three-day convention which was scheduled to open in New York on June 24. The convention was called off in compliance with the request of the Office of Defense Transporation for immediate cancellation of all conventions so as to make all transportation facilities available for the increased military needs due to the invasion of Europe.

A statement issued by the executive committee of the Congress, explaining its decision to call off the convention, says, “The ODT requested the immediate cancellation of all conventions and meetings not connected with the war program and the end of all non-essential civilian travel in order to make room for the transportation of war casualties and other military passengers. With the news of the first battles on the coast of Normandy it became clear that momentous as are the problems of our people, neither the country as a whole nor the Jewish community can give concentrated attention to these problems at this most critical hour of conflict. Psychologically we are all participants in the battle and our natural impulse is to suspend all other problems until victory looms certain over the smoke of the battlefield. For these reasons the Convention has been postponed.

“This does not mean, however, that the Congress will give up, even for a time, any of its activities. We regard these activities as a direct contribution to the strengthening of the home front, but we consider it our patriotic duty to call off the planned convention at this moment of all-out national effort to win the war. The solutions of the problems affecting the future of our people will appear in a much clearer light when the actual liberation of the European continent will be well under way.”