Jewish Labor Conference Gets Program on Rehabilitation, Refugees and Anti-semitism

A program for rehabilitation of Jews in Europe and the resettlement of refugees in Palestine and for combatting anti-Semitism in the United States was outlined today by Adolph Held, president of the Jewish Labor Committee, addressing the opening session of the first post-war convention of the organization at the Hotel Chelsea here.

The convention is being attended by more than 500 delegates from all parts of the country and by delegations representing Jewish labor organizations in Poland and other European countries.

President Truman in a message to the convention praised the work of the Jewish Labor Committee. “I share your earnest hope for a brighter world in which peoples everywhere will rise above prejudice and intolerance to live in peace and mutual respect,” the President said.

The revision of U.S. immigration laws “so as to give refuge to our proper share of displaced persons, whether they be Christians or Jews” was urged by Governor Thomas E. Dewey of New York in greetings to the Convention. “In all sincerity, we cannot call upon other nations to open their gates while our own remain closed,” Governor Dewey said. “If the United States as a nation takes the lead, it will go a long way towards removing this rebuke from the conscience of mankind.”

Mr. Held, in his presidential address, culogized the 6,000,000 Jews exterminated by the Nazis and reviewed the activities of the Jewish Labor Committee since the end of the war. The program he suggested for the current year provides for:

1. Intensified reconstructive aid to Jews in Europe who wish to remain in their native lands.

2. Acceleration of emigration of displaced Jews from the camps in Europe, as well as helping the emigration of Jews wishing to leave their countries of origin.

3. Expansion of the activities of the Jewish Labor Committee in connection with the rehabilitation in Palestine of new Jewish settlers.

4. Continuation of the Committee’s fight on anti-Semitism in the United States through organized labor and other channels.

ORGANIZATION WILL REQUIRE $1,500,000 TO FINANCE 1947 ACTIVITIES

Jacob Pat, executive secretary of the Committee, reported that the organization will require a minimum budget of $1,500,000 for its work in 1947. During the last year, he said, “the organization raised more than $900,000 in cash and about $300,000 in foodstuffs, clothing and medical supplies which were sent to Europe. He emphasized that Jewish federation and welfare funds throughout the country indicated their appreciation of the work done by the Labor group by contributing more funds to it than in the previous year.

Pointing out that the Committee has since the outbreak of the war assisted Jewish groups and institutions in 17 countries, Mr. Pat said that the contact which his organization maintained with the underground movement in various countries during the Nazi regime had resulted in the rescue of many Jews.

In the United States, he continued, the Jewish Labor Committee mobilized the aid of labor unions to fight anti-Semitism and to urge admission of more refugees into this country. Under the influence of the Committee, he added, resolutions were passed by the national convention of the A.F.L. and the CIO demanding that more displaced persons be permitted to enter the U.S.

The Committee was also active in the fight for Jewish rights in Palestine by energetically supporting the demand for the abrogation of the White Paper, Mr. Pat reported. He stated that with the aid of his organization a number of displaced Jews were settled in France, Norway and Sweden.