Hadassah-z. O. A. Agreement Approved at Convention

Hadassah scored a sweeping victory in reaching a new agreement with the Zionist Organization of America yesterday after a stormy all-day session during which Morris Rothenberg, president of the Zionist Organization of America, made a dramatic unexpected appearance on the convention floor and urged Hadassah’s acceptance of the compromise resolutions proposed by the Zionist Organization of America.

The convention unanimously passed upon the resolutions late in the afternoon to the effect that Hadassah pay an affiliation tax of $7,500 to the Zionist Organization. Mr. Rothenberg asked for a fifty cents per capita tax. Hadassah will now have a fixed number of delegates-at-large to the Zionist convention, designated by Hadassah, in place of the former method. A joint conference committee consisting of representatives of Hadassah and the Zionist Organization of America is to be established for the discussion of general Zionist matters. Hadassah maintained its autonomy by telling the Zionist Organization of America that if it wants to give information about the World Zionist Organization, it should do so through the national board of Hadassah and not directly to chapters as the Zionist Organization had asked.

INTERCHANGE OF DELEGATES

The Zionist Organization of America agreed to permit the interchange of delegates at each other’s meetings. Hadassah is to remit shekolim direct to the World Zionist Organization. Hadassah also agreed not to take any steps towards securing recognition as a separate Zionist union. The procedure heretofore in effect, that a woman could affiliate directly with a Zionist group, will continue. Hadassah is to be recognized as the sole women’s Zionist organization in America. This was in the original Hadassah resolution, which has been in effect one year and is to continue for a second, unless sixty days notice is given.

HADASSAH HEALTH WORK

This morning’s session of the Hadassah convention, which is being held at the Palmer House, was devoted to the reading of a report by Mrs. Jacob Grossman of Flushing, Long Island, chairman of the Health Welfare Committee. She stated that because of the efforts of Hadassah the prevalence of trachoma had decreased in Palestine from thirty-five percent in 1918 to seven percent in 1932.

Four thousand lunches are served daily to school-children at a nominal cost, she said, and the four Hadassah hospitals cared for 12,000 patients last year. Health Welfare stations, according to the report, handled 15,000 pre-school children and the school hygiene department treated 30,000 school children. The sex-hygiene and marital problem advisory stations in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem have been highly successful. Thirty-two thousand mothers visited the clinics and Hadassah nurses made 36,000 home visits during the past year. The disease of ringworm which ravaged forty per cent of the population in 1920 has been reduced to less than one percent.

A resolution calling for a boycott of German goods was to be put before the convention this afternoon. A banquet this evening closes the convention. Tomorrow, Hadassah women will be the guests of the State of Illinois at a tea to be given on the World Fair grounds.