The Joint Distribution Committee today announced the launching of the first post-war survey of the health and economic status of the Rome Jewish community. Initial stages of the survey will be limited to the 5,000 Jews living in the so-called “ghetto” of Rome, a congested area bordering the Tiber River.
According to Moses A. Leavitt, JDC executive vice-chairman, the survey will seek to determine the medical and welfare needs of the local Jewish population, community resources available to meet these needs, the extent to which community resources are being used and whether additional aid is required from JDC and other outside sources.
Currently, JDC is providing welfare, educational and vocational training and rehabilitation assistance for some 3, 500 men, women and children in Rome and other parts of Italy. The JDC also supports an OSE medical dispensary in the heart of the Rome “ghetto,” an ORT vocational training school and a Jewish orphanage which is home for about 60 youngsters. Many of the 1, 600 displaced persons still living in Italian cities and refugee camps are also dependent on JDC help as they wait for an opportunity for permanent resettlement in other countries.
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