The role which Jewish centers throughout the United States are playing in American life was emphasized by President Eisenhower in a message addressed to the National Jewish Welfare Board on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Jewish center movement in this country.
Centennial celebrations will be held by Jewish centers and Young Men’s and Young Women’s Hebrew Association in all parts of the country in the course of the next six months. The celebrations will be formally opened next Sunday in New York, According to the National Jewish Welfare Board, parent organization of the Jewish centers and YM-YWHAs, these institutions now have more than 500,000 members and employ on a full-time basis 1,250 professional workers. Their annual budget exceeds $13,000,000.
Hailing the Jewish center movement, President Eisenhower said in his message that the movement constitutes an “asset of rare worth to the life and developing civilization of our America.” The centers, the President said, have “infused the ordinary lives of an uncounted number of people–ranging in age from the pre-school child to the senior citizen–with purpose, cheer, creative self-awareness and lively meaning. For this dedicated work, the Jewish Community Centers and YMHAs of America deserve the gratitude of millions,” he added.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
