Friedman Elected Ort President Haber Retires After 25 Years

Harold Friedman, a former president of the United HIAS Service, was elected president of the American ORT Federation at the conclusion yesterday of its three-day 53rd annual convention. He had served as first vice-president of the organization last year. A New Yorker, who has long been a leader in Jewish causes, including the United Jewish Appeal, Friedman succeeds Dr. William Haber of Ann Arbor, Mich., who had been American ORT president for 25 years. Dr. Haber was designated honorary president.

Friedman is an investment banker who is currently chairman of the Overseas Committee of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds. He has also been active with HIAS, and its associated agency, the United Service for New Americans, for more than 25 years. He is now chairman of its executive committee. Friedman is also a member of the Board of Governors of the New York United Jewish Appeal and Federation of Jewish Philanthropies Joint Campaign, and is a member of the boards of the Joint Distribution Committee and the CJFWF.

Dr. Haber, who was honored at the convention for his 25 years of service, devoted his life to the resettlement and retraining of displaced Jews of the Soviet Union, Eastern Europe and Africa. During his career in Jewish communal life he was executive director of the National Refugee Service, which was created as the central American organization for the resettlement of refugees from Nazism in the U.S. and was advisor on Jewish Affairs to Gen. Lucius D. Clay, Commander in Chief of the U.S. Zone of Germany.

Dr. Haber is a member of the Board of Governors of the Hebrew University and chairman of the Academic Council of the American Friends of the Hebrew University. For many years he was active in the B’nai B’rith Hillel Foundation and served as chairman of the National Hillel Commission.