A $1,000,000 nation-wide campaign to expand the work of the Hebrew Sheltering and Immigrant Aid Society was voted today at its 54th annual convention in the Hotel Astor attended by 1,500 delegates. Resolutions were adopted urging the adoption of the Wagner-Rogers Bill for admission of 20,000 refugee children in 1939 and 1940 and expressing appreciation of President Roosevelt’s effort in behalf of refugees.
In his presidential address, Abraham Herman reported that during the past year HIAS in cooperation with the Jewish Colonization Association had aided 3,854 German refugees to settle in 34 countries and has also aided about 10,000 Jews from other European countries to migrate. He praised the work of the Intergovernmental Refugee Committee.
Declaring that “in another decade we may be crying out loud for more consumers”, Immigration Commissioner James L. Houghteling asserted that at present “the temper of our people appears to be unfavorable towards any increase of immigration quotas” and that although he would like a “liberalization” of the immigration laws, members of Congress did not agree with him. The Commissioner said that the work of the Intergovernmental Committee would “have to go unrewarded for the present because of the events of the past week,” but he declared the greatest hope of the Jews was still in international cooperation.
Isaac L. Asofsky, executive director, reported that 590,184 Americans sought advice from HIAS during the past year regarding immigration of their relatives and that 210,208 meals were served to emigrants prior to their being united with their relatives in the United States. Other speakers included Alexander Kahn, manager of the Jewish Forward, Assistant District Attorney Samuel Goldstein, grandmaster of the I.O.B.A., Dr. Samuel Margoshes, editor of the Jewish Day, Rabbi A.D. Burack, vice-president of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis, and the Rev. Z.H. Masliansky. Assistant District Attorney Murray I. Gurfein, Herman J. Greenhut and Harry Lang were added to the Board of Directors.
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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.
