Hadassah Parley Hears Condemnation of Arab Meddling in Free Countries

A ranking world Zionist leader said tonight that it should be made clear to the Arab governments that intimidation, threat of boycotts and interference in local political matters of independent states will not be tolerated. Mrs. Rose L. Halprin, chairman of the Jewish Agency for Israeli-American Section, and former national president of Hadassah, condemned Arab meddling in the internal affairs of the United States and Great Britain, and charged that Arab diplomats and agents in Latin America are now engaging not only in anti-Zionist activity but also in anti-Jewish pursuits.

Mrs. Halprin spoke to 2,000 delegates at the 50th national convention of Hadassah at the International Hotel here. She asserted that anti-Israel, anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish activities of the Arabs take on different patterns. She cited as examples Egypt’s mobilization of German scientists to develop weapons for Israel’s destruction; Arab boycott threats in Britain and other parts of the world; the Arab pressure to prevent the election of Lord Mancroft to the presidency of the London Chamber of Commerce; and Arab anti-Israel, anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish activities in Argentina. “Surely the time has come–indeed it is long past due–when it should be made clear to the Arabs that intimidation, threat of boycotts, interference in local political matters of independent states will not be tolerated,” she said.

Addressing herself to the Zionist movement, Mrs. Halprin said that Zionist concepts are as valid today as they were before the establishment of Israel. She declared: “Zionism has within it the tools for assuring Jewish survival; it strengthens the unity of the Jewish people. Through its support of the State of Israel, Zionism gives the community there the opportunity of creating again its own cultural image and contributing through this to the mainstream of world civilization. Education of the Jewish masses, their commitment to Hebraic ideas and ideals, are still major pillars in the tasks ahead for Zionist fulfillment.”

$10,924,354 RAISED IN FISCAL YEAR; SURVEY ANALYZES STATUS OF 300,000 MEMBERS

At another session, Mrs. Mortimer Jacobson, national treasurer of Hadassah, reported that, during the last fiscal year, ending June 30, 1964, Hadassah raised $10,924,354 for its programs in Israel and in the United States. The Hadassah budget for the 1963-64 fiscal year was $9,840,000.

At still another session, Mrs. Benjamin Gottesman, member of Hadassah’s national board, and editor of the Hadassah Magazine, released results of a nationwide survey which disclosed that Hadassah’s 300,000 members are a well-read, highly educated, religiously affiliated group of Americans. More than half of them joined Hadassah 15 years ago or earlier and two-thirds are between 25 and 54 years old. Eighty-six per cent are married, and nine per cent are widowed, one-third are employed as teachers.

The survey was conducted for the Hadassah Magazine by Dr. Edgar Gunther, of New York. Other facts about Hadassah women revealed by the survey were: 36 per cent have mothers who belong to Hadassah, but only 12 per cent of their daughters do; the Hadassah family comprises 2.2 children, and 60 per cent of them are 10 years old or younger; 85 per cent are members of a temple or synagogue –a much larger percentage than is found in the rest of the American Jewish community; one-half attended college.