A group of top ranking leaders of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds will visit Israel this summer for two-way consultations with Israeli officials on a variety of topics of mutual concern, it was announced today by Herbert R. Abeles, CJFWF president and leader of the group. It will be the first such visit by key community leaders under Council auspices, he said.
Conferences will begin in Jerusalem on August 7 and will continue through August 25th. The bulk of the three-week period will be spent in Jerusalem. However, the schedule also provides for trips to Tel Aviv and the North, with several field trips for observation of immigrant absorption and other programs of special interest to the community leaders.
The Council leaders will interpret the development and organization of American Jewish communities to the Israelis and will seek to obtain from them greater understanding of the needs as well as the developments in Israel, Mr, Abeles said. The group has purposely been kept small, he explained, to assure intimate contact with key officials responsible for use of funds provided by united Jewish community campaigns. The project has met with warm response from Israeli officials, including Prime Minister. Ben Gurion, who has expressed satisfaction with the visit in a letter to Mr. Abeles.
Topics to be discussed include: the role of the Jewish Agency, Israel’s economy, integration of immigrants, agricultural development, relations between Israel and American Jewish communities, American aid to Israel, fund raising, health and welfare developments, Joint Distribution Committee-Malben, housing and clearing of ma’abarot, vocational training, and yeshivot. The schedule will conclude with an evaluation session.
In addition to Mr. Abeles, the group includes the following board members: Arthur Gelber, Toronto, vice-president; Sol Satinsky, Philadelphia, secretary; Labal A. Katz, New Orleans, president of the Southern States Region of the Council; Joseph Goldstein, Rochester; Irving Levick,. Buffalo; Judge Matthew M. Levy, New York; Max Simon, Cleveland; Louis J. Fox, Baltimore; Stanley C. Myers, Miami; and Philip Bernstein, executive director. Also, Jack Olds, Portland; Morris Satinsky, Philadelphia; Benjamin B. Rosenberg, Miami; and Ernest Stock, CJFWF overseas consultant.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
