Statements by George Backer, president of the American ORT Federation, and Dr. David Lvovitch, vice-president of the World ORT Union, mourning the death of Dr. Leon Bramson, chairman of the Executive Committee of the World ORT Union Central Board, were issued today.
Backer said: “The death of Dr. Bramson is a deep personal loss to those who knew him for his passionate devotion to humanitarian principles. To the ORT, in whose behalf he worked strenuously for 32 years, his loss is irreparable. It is due to the organization he developed that ORT can continue its vital program with the efficiency and thoroughness that marked his administration.
“We in America can pay no better tribute to this noble leader of Jewry than to pledge ourselves anew to the ideals that motivated his entire life, and to assure Dr. Bramson a associates Prof. William Oualid, president of the Central Board; Pierre Dreyfus, Baron Pierre de Guinzburg and Dr. A. Syngalowski that we will give them the same undiminished support.”
Dr. Lvovitch stated: “I consider that the loss of Dr. Leon Bramson is a great loss not only for ORT but for all Jewry, for whom he gave his life. He was a victim of his own indefatigible devotion to the cause of the rehabilitation of Jewry. He was already a sick man when France collapsed; and yet he refused to leave his post although the conditions in South France were such that there is no question that they further undermined his health and shortened his life. His past had conditioned him to accept his duties as sacred. This is characteristic of the man with whom I worked so closely for over twenty years.
“My best tribute to Dr. Bramson’s memory will be not to express my personal grief but to help in seeing to it that the work of ORT continues without interruption. In this spirit, I send my heartfelt condolences to my colleagues. Prof. Oualid, president of the Central Board of ORT; Dr. Syngalowski, Pierre Dreyfus and Baron Pierre de Guinzburg, vice-presidents of the Central Board, as well as to the many other old co-workers of Dr. Bramson.”
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