C.J.F.W.F. to Present Award for Distinguished Communal Service

The first presentation of the newly established Edwin Rosenberg Award for distinguished Jewish communal service will be made at the 25th General Assembly of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds in November, it was announced today by Julian Freeman of Indianapolis, immediate past president of the Council and chairman of the Awards Committee. Nominations of leaders for the award should be submitted by Sept. 15, the announcement said.

Eligible for the award are men and women, volunteer and professional, individuals and groups, “who have demonstrated constructive leadership in Jewish communal service, in the achievement of cooperation among Jewish organizations for the greater benefit of the persons served by those agencies, and for the greater benefit of the community and humanity generally.”

The Edwin Rosenberg Award was established by the Council and was made possible by a grant from the Ben and Bertha Touster Foundation, Inc. It is designed to serve as a continuing testimonial to Edwin Rosenberg’s outstanding statesmanship in Jewish communal life as a stimulus to others to emulate the principles which his leadership exemplifies. Mr. Rosenberg, of New York, was chairman of the negotiating committee which brought about the merger of HIAS, the United Service for New Americans and the migration department of the Joint Distribution Committee into a single unified agency, the United Hias Service.

Mr. Touster served three terms as president of HIAS and was its top officer at the time of the merger. He became the first president of the integrated Jewish migration agency. He is active in the leadership of several national Jewish organizations and is also a member of the Board of the CJFWF. In establishing the award, Mr. Touster lauded Mr. Rosenberg’s activities in improving services and strengthening organizations.