Haber Calls for Greater Concern for Jews Drawn from Arab Lands

Dean William Haber of the University of Michigan appealed here, at the concluding session of the 53rd annual convention of Hadassah, for greater public concern for Jews who fled from Arab countries because of persecution during the May-June crisis and Six-Day War.

He urged such concern for “the Jews who have been driven by fear, have been expelled by force, have been imprisoned in camps, have been deprived of property and livelihood, the thousands who lived far from the battlefields of the six-day war but were made its victims. They have fled from Libya, Morocco, Tunisia and — sad to say — there are others less fortunate, who have not been allowed to get away, as in Egypt.” He said these Jews also were refugees, “every bit as worthy of sympathetic concern.”

Mrs. Rose L. Halprin, chairman of the American section of the Jewish Agency for Israel, Inc., and former Hadassah president, told the 2,000 delegates that during the May-June crisis “a hidden chord of Jewish consciousness was touched and offers of help came spontaneously” because Jews “felt an inner need to share in the great experience personally, by giving, by sacrificing.”

Commenting that “analysts, psychologists and teachers will all be attempting to determine the true depth” of the reality of that response, Mrs. Halprin added that, “one thing is already clear and that is that during that period of Israel’s history, a page of Jewish history was written, showing a people’s commitment and the acceptance of Israel as a central focal point of Jewish life.”

Dr. Miriam K. Freund, another past president, described voluntary organizations, such as Hadassah, as “instruments for extending the principles of our foreign policy through effective programs involving the personal participation of our citizenry.” She said that voluntary organizations have been “keys to survival” for millions of people throughout the world.”