Jewish Groups Laud Report of Truman’s Commission on Immigration

Six major national Jewish organizations, joined by 28 local Jewish councils throughout the country, hailed the major recommendations in the report of the President’s Commission on Immigration and Naturalization as "a splendid formulation of the principles on which a genuinely American immigration policy should rest."

They expressed gratification that the Commission’s recommendations incorporated concepts advocated by spokesmen for the three major religious faiths as well as by labor and civic organizations. Quoting the Commission report, the Jewish groups said that the U. S. immigrationllaw "should be completely rewritten." They called attention to a statement by President-elect Eisenhower, during the presidential campaign, in which he also declared that the law should be rewritten, and said that the recommendations of the Commission seemed to accord with Mr. Eisenhower’s views.

National organizations subscribing to the statement include the American Jewish Congress, Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, the Jewish Labor Committee, the Jewish War Veterans of the U.S., the Synagogue Council of America and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations. The Synagogue Council is the coordinating agency for the Orthodox, Conservative and Reform wings of American Judaism. The statement was released by the National Community Relations Advisory Council, coordinating body in the Jewish community relations field.

Dr. Israel Goldstein, president of the American Jewish Congress, issued an additional statement on behalf of his organization declaring that the Commission’s findings "confirm our reading of the McCarran-Walter Immigration Act as a noxious mixture of racism, fear and plain ignorance." The report, he said, "clears away the obfuscations behind which the proponents of the McCarran-Walter Act have sought to conceal and disguise their motives."

AMERICAN JEWISH COMMITTEE, A. D. L. WELCOME RECOMMENDATIONS

The American Jewish Committee, in a statement, declared: "The spirit of the report of the President’s Commission marks a welcome return to sanity in American immigration policy. In particular, the A.J.C. welcomes the recommendations of the Commission that the discriminatory and outmoded national origins quota system be abolished and replaced by a unified quota system. The Commission is to be congratulated for exhibiting a wisdom and tolerance in the true tradition of America."

The Anti-Defamation League, hailing the report, stated: "While this report will be placed before the Congress for legislative action by President Truman, it is the incoming Republican administration and Congress which will have the final decision to make. We are confident that the decision will be in line with the principles laid down by the report."