The general assembly of the Council of Jewish Federations and Welfare Funds, to be held in Atlanta Feb. 1 to 5, faces the dual task of preventing any harmful developments which may result from abandonment of the United Jewish Appeal and “constructive planning” for the adjustment of community programs to meet current local, national and overseas Jewish needs, declared Board Chairman William J. Shroder in a message published in the council’s organ, Notes and News.
“Inherent in this abandonment is the possibility of dissension within the communities, with the danger not merely of breaking down community harmony and cooperation, but also of producing less financial support for the needs of the American scene, as well as of Palestine and the rest of the world,” he said. “The division of available funds raised in the local communities may be determined by them without too much local friction, if their quota committees act objectively and with a minimum of emotionalism, on the basis of past experiences and available facts. The important need of determining functions and programs, so as to avoid overlapping and to secure maximum results from available funds, is a matter involving patient efforts toward cooperation between the local communities and the national and overseas agencies. Neither of them is justified in taking an arbitrary position with reference to the other. Both must rather be actuated by the sincere desire to achieve these results without, on the one hand, destroying the autonomy of the functional agencies or, on the other, imposing upon the contributing public unnecessarily overlapping, duplicating or costly programs.”
More than 500 delegates representing Jewish federations, welfare funds and community councils in 165 cities will meet at the Assembly. Most pressing of the issues they will discuss will be the need for establishing an equitable basis for the allocation of funds among the various national and overseas agencies following dissolution of the United Jewish Appeal.
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