The Organization for Rehabilitation Through Training (ORT), which serves Jewish educational and humanitarian needs throughout the world, has adopted a record budget of $15,109,500 for 1968, it was announced at the national conference of the American ORT Federation here today. The budget, which exceeds last year’s allocation by more than $1.7 million, was determined by rising costs, increased teachers’ salaries and equipment replacement needs.
The American share of the budget is $4,386,500 of which $2,250,000 will be provided by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee for ORT operations abroad. The 78,000-member American Women’s ORT has pledged an additional $1,612,500. The balance will be made up from contributions here and overseas. But pledges so far are about $500,000 short of meeting the organization’s needs in the year ahead, the conference was told.
ORT and other Jewish organizations were urged to exercise special concern for the “tens of thousands of Jews throughout the world,” particularly in Eastern Europe and Moslem lands, whose security was seriously undermined by the Arab-Israel war of last June. Samuel L. Haber, executive vice-chairman of the JDC, made this point in his address to the ORT conference. He said that the war had set in motion forces whose historical consequences may not become apparent for many years, but which threatened the Jewish populations in East European and Moslem lands.
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