The Jews of America have a duty to bring aid and relief to the Jews of Germany, James N. Rosenberg, noted attorney and vice-chairman of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, declared yesterday in a radio speech over WMCA. The Jews of Germany have been reduced to a class almost lower than that of the “untouchables” of India, he said in his appeal for support of the German Relief Campaign of the Joint Distribution Committee.
Describing the plight of Germany’s Jewish population and the especial hardships of the children, he said:
“In the face of this unspeakable catastrophe, what part shall we in America play? Shall we content ourselves with protests or denunciations? Do we not owe it to ourselves and to the cause of civilization to take every possible means whereby the conscience of the world may be aroused and the voices of decent men and women of all races and creeds raised against these dreadful acts? But we have a more immediate and compelling duty to perform. This is the duty to bring relief and aid and hope to the Jewish victims in Germany; to give them at least some little help toward reconstructing their lives somewhere or somehow. The duty, as it seems to me, is cast upon all men and women who have any feeling of humanity to bring relief and help to the Jewish victims in Germany, to find some way to help them become self-supporting; to find same way whereby the Jewish children may receive some education, some training of hand and mind to prepare themselves for the pioneer life which seems to be their only hope.”
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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.