James G. McDonald, former High Commissioner for Refugees at the League of Nations in the early years of the Hitler regime and later the first United States Ambassador to Israel, was honored here today, on his 75th birthday, at a luncheon arranged for him at the Hotel Plaza by the two noted Jewish leaders, Benjamin Abrams and James N. Rosenberg. He was presented at the luncheon with an Honorary Fellowship of the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel in recognition of his activities on behalf of Israel.
Mr. Abrams, who presided, revealed that Mr. McDonald was actually the person who originated the idea of selling Israel bonds in the United States when he was U.S. Ambassador in Israel. Mr. Rosenberg emphasized the efforts which Mr. McDonald as High Commissioner for Refugees made, on behalf of saving Jews from Nazi hands, In spite of getting no moral or financial support from the League of Nations, he nevertheless enabled many thousands of Jews from Germany to find new homelands.
Mr. McDonald, replying to the speakers and to warm greetings received from many leading personalities, including President Truman, Israel President Izhak Ben-Zvi, Israel’s Prime Minister David Ben-Gurion and other members of the Israel Cabinet–spoke of the years of his public service and stressed that his years of service in Israel and the subsequent years of helping Israel’s efforts in the United States, give him the greatest satisfaction in his life. He also lauded President Truman as the only statesman who sincerely wanted to come to the aid of Jewish refugees from Hitlerism as well as to be of active assistance in the development of Israel.
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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.
