Chief Rabbi Isaac Herzog of Palestine, arriving here today on the United States liner President Adams for a three-month visit, said he would seek $1,000,000 from American Jews to bring 1,500 yeshiva students and 200 rabbis to Palestine from Europe and to assist 130 Palestine religious institutions.
In an interview with the JTA at the Hotel Waldorf-Astoria, Rabbi Herzog said he would visit principal cities of the United States in the campaign for American assistance. The Soviet Government has already promised transit for the immigrants and application has been made to the Palestine Government for immigration certificates, he said.
“I expect that American Jewry will rise to the height of this historic emergency and will respond perhaps more than its wonted magnanimity,” the Chief Rabbi said. Dr. Herzog left Palestine by air six weeks ago and embarked on the President Adams at Cape Town. He is accompanied by his wife. It is his first visit to the United States.
Discussing conditions in Palestine, he denounced the deportation of illegal immigrants to a British colony. This, he said, fills “the cup of our sorrow to overflowing.” He asserted that “Palestine Jewry is not dismayed by the thick-gathering clouds which threatened the Holy Land. Our faith inspires us with ever renewed hope and that hope in turn reinvigorates our faith.” The Jewish community’s economic position is “increasingly difficult,” he said.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
