Plans for an expansion program, involving special research projects by refugee authors in this country, were announced for the Menorah Journal last night at a dinner commemorating the 25th anniversary of the quarterly’s founding. The dinner, held at the Hotel Astor, and attended by more than 300 authors, artists and supporters of the Menorah movement, is the first of a series planned throughout the country.
George S. Hellman, well-known art and literary critic, who presided, revealed that a fund of $100,000 would be sought throughout the country for promotion and maintenance of the periodical. Part of the money raised, he said, will be used for honoraria to exiled authors who will be commissioned to carry out special research projects. Henry Hurwitz, editor of the Journal, predicted a possible Jewish renaissance from the present persecution. "That is the paradoxical way of the Jews," he declared. "And America is now clearly destined to be the center of such a renaissance — we were Babylon and Spain and Western Europe in historic periods before."
Other speakers at the dinner included Dr. John Erskine, Columbia professor and author; Dr. Irwin Edman, author and professor of philosophy at Columbia; Dr. Heinz Liepmann, exiled author, and George Stevens, editor of the Saturday Review of Literature. A message from Governor Herbert H. Lehman, head of the honorary committee sponsoring the dinner, was read.
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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.
