The 45-member United Jewish Appeal delegation which has been touring Israel for the past ten days today left from the Lydda airport for the return trip to the United States. Before the delegation reaches the U.S. it will have traveled some 15,000 miles inspecting DP camps in Europe, immigration reception centers and other facilities in Israel, and Jewish communities in North Africa.
(U.J.A. headquarters in New York announced today that the delegation is due to arrive at LaGuardia late tomorrow afternoon. The delegates will proceed to Washington this week-end to present a first-hand report on their observations in Europe and Israel to the national U.J.A. conference scheduled to be held at the Shoreham Hotel, March 19-20.)
Just prior to boarding the plane, Julian Venezky, spokesman for the delegation, declared that the members of the group were “greatly impressed” by Israel’s last potential for the absorption of immigrants. With financial help from the U.J.A., be said, “Israel can be a refuge for hundreds of thousands of Jaws from Europe and North Africa seeking security among their own people,”
Yesterday, the delegation conferred with Finance Minister Eliezer Kaplan who emphasized the need for foreign assistance in the form of gifts and investments. The Minister pointed out that, excluding the extraordinary expenses involved in the reception and absorption of the immigrants, the Israeli budget is balanced.
During its tour of this country, the U.J.A. group visited various areas in the Negev, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Tiberias, Safed, Acre, Haifa and Tel Aviv.The American Jewish leaders also met President Weizmann and various Cabinet Ministers.
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