Cjfwf Reports 1966 Campaigns, Thus Far, Exceed Pace of Peak 1965 Drives

Jewish community fund-raising campaigns in the United States are currently at the one-third mark, 15 percent ahead of the pace set in 1965, when an eight-year record was achieved, the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds reported today. The CJFWF, reporting findings of a meeting of its board of directors, said that the 1965 total of $132, 000, 000 raised by federations was the highest in that eight-year period. That sum was exclusive of capital and endowment funds.

The board was told that the newly-formed Committee on Federation planning for Jewish Education, headed by Mandell Berman of Detroit, will work to establish guidelines for federations to carry out their responsibilities in this area most effectively. The committee will first study the federation role in Jewish education after bar mitsvah, as well as teacher recruitment and training, and develop plans to strengthen them. The committee is working closely with the American Association for Jewish Education.

The board was told that there was progress on the proposed CJFWF national population study of American Jewry. The CJFWF, the National Community Relations Advisory Council and the Synagogue Council of America have agreed on joint action to examine any possible role the U.S. Census Bureau can play in regard to collecting facts on the number of American Jews. The board was told that, in any event, the CJFWF study itself would have to delve into such matters as Jewish identification, commitment, Jewish education and intermarriage which the Census Bureau could not possibly obtain.

Other reports given the board included one by Alan V. Lowenstein, on the current discussions between the American Jewish Committee and the NCRAC; another by Irving Kane, on budget consultations with the Joint Distribution Committee, analysing the impact of the loss of West German reparations; and one by S.P. Goldberg, director of the CJFWF department of overseas services.