The 40th anniversary of the Joint Distribution Committee was marked here last night at a function sponsored by the Mifal Hatorah, central organization of some 50 yeshivoth and other religious institutions throughout Israel. The affair, attended by American Ambassador Edward B. Lawson, members of the Cabinet and Parliament, Chief Rabbi Isaac Herzog and some 200 rabbis, was held at ZOA House.
Minister of Religion Mcshe Shapira hailed the JDC for “safeguarding the nation’s faith” by aiding scholars and religious students. He specifically thanked Charles Passman, JDC director in Israel, for the agency’s aid to religious institutions. Ambassador Lawson, who addressed the function, said that American Jewry can be proud of the JDC’s humanitarian activities which, he stressed, also saved the Jewish nation’s spiritual treasures.
A message to the meeting from Israel President Ben Zvi expressed appreciation for the JDC’s activities during the last generation. “The JDC not only saved one hundred thousand Jews during the Nazi campaign of extermination, but it also helped the survival of the nation’s spirit, “the President’s message stated.
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