“The annals of the American Jewish community, extending over three centuries, and its striking growth during the last hundred years, constitute a cardinal chapter in the history of the Jewish people and add lustre to the great saga of the United States,” Israel Prime Minister Moshe Sharett declared in a message released here today by Ralph Samuel, national chairman of the American Jewish Tercentenary.
“Standing on the threshold of the fourth century of its existence, American Jewry must be keenly conscious and deeply proud of the great heritage of Jewish tradition and idealism which has fallen to its lot. Indeed, were it not for the single-minded dedication of the masses of American Jews to the cause of their people, Israel would hardly have arisen, while hundreds of thousands of Jews who found refuge in the land of their forefathers could have remained doomed to misery, degradation and constant peril,” Mr. Sharett pointed out.
The Prime Minister stated that Israel relied “on the fruitful partnership between it and American Jewry to enrich Jewish culture, deepen Jewish consciousness, afford protection to all persecuted and menaced Jews, serve the cause of free democracy and universal peace and uphold the high moral principles and social ideals of Judaism.”
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