A survey of special needs affecting Jews, both civilian and military personnel, as a consequence of President Kennedy’s invoking the naval blockade against Cuba, was implemented by the National Jewish Welfare Board immediately after the President’s highlighting of the Cuban crisis, the JWB announced here today.
The on-the-spot survey in the southeast section of the United States was undertaken by Joseph Greenhut and Nathan Loshak as soon as it became apparent there would be an influx of military personnel into that area, the JWB stated. In addition, all civilian part-time rabbis were alerted by the JWB’s Commission on Chaplaincy to provide increased religious and morale services to Jewish personnel.
Community resources were mobilized to meet the needs of Jewish military personnel moving into the Panama Canal Zone, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Bahamas, Jamaica and Trinidad-Tobago. The JWB also established services for dependents of Jewish Navy and Marine Corps personnel evacuated from Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.
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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.