Conference of Christians and Jews Will Seek $3,574,000 in 1952

The National Conference of Christians and Jews will seek to raise $3,574,000 in 1952, it was announced here today at the concluding session of the 23rd annual meeting of the Conference. Roger W. Straus was re-elected national co-chairman of the organization.

Addressing an earlier session, Israel’s Ambassador Abba Eban told the delegates that the Conference renders a valuable service to the cause of world peace. He pointed out that both Christians and Jews derived their spiritual tradition from “the prophetic literature of ancient Israel.”

It was reported at the session that the Conference intends to allocate $250,000 to the establishment of a “human relations center” at a university yet to be designed. The center would help in the work of combatting anti-Semitism and in the prevention of race hostilities.

The Conference adopted a resolution calling for a calm and tolerant objective examination of the question of the appointment of an American Ambassador to the Vatican. Among those who participated in the religious aspect of the program were Rabbi Louis Egelson, administrative secretary of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, and Rabbi Maurice Eisendrath. The theme of the Conference, which brought 500 delegates here from most free nations, was “peace, freedom, and brotherhood.”

Arthur H. Compton, Nobel prize winning physicist, said that “if we want peace with freedom, it is the spiritual background of brotherhood upon which this must be fashioned. ” A charge that Communists are making propaganda capital of American blunders in prejudice and discrimination was made by J.D. Zellerbach, former E.C.A. chief in Italy. “Every case of discrimination is picked up by the Communists and broadcast around the world, ” he said.