The Jewish National Fund of America raised more than $22,500,000 in 1951, it was reported here today at a meeting of the J.N.F. board of directors held at the Commodore Hotel.
Dr. Harris J. Levine, president of the Jewish National Fund of America, told of the negotiations he conducted with the leaders of the Jewish Agency for the purpose of reaching an agreement regarding the activities of the J.N.F. and general cooperation of the J.N.F. with other fund-raising organizations. Emphasizing that the Jewish National Fund, under the agreement reached in Jerusalem, no longer receives any funds from the United Jewish Appeal, Dr. Levine said: “We now more than ever rely on the masses of the Jewish people to directly provide the J.N.F., through the system of the traditional, time-hallowed collections, with the large sums required for the soil redemption program in Israel.”
In reporting on the income of the Jewish National Fund of America for the year ending September 30, 1951, Jacob Sincoff, treasurer, also gave the breakdown of the total income which was $22,539,279,73. Of this sum, Mr. Sincoff said, $2,400,518.27 represents the income from traditional collections and the sum of $20,138,761.46 represents the J.N.F. ‘s share from the United Palestine Appeal or the United Jewish Appeal collections. The income from the U.P.A. this year shows an increase of $1,789,052.55.
Dr. Yosef Weiss, financial director of the J.N.F. in Jerusalem, reported on the J.N.F. financial operations and the assistance rendered to the Israel Government institutions. “In the course of the last six months,” he said, “we have made available to Israel Government institutions the sum of $16,000,000 in cash. In addition, we have provided the Israel Government institutions with credit facilities to the amount of $20,000,000. in the United States alone. We obtained 300,000,000 Belgian francs from Belgium for the purchase of raw materials which could not be acquired anywhere else. Credit of $7,000,000 which we obtained in Switzerland, provided the owners of 800 factories in Israel with the possibility of acquiring new equipment and spare parts.”
Reporting on J.N.F. activities throughout the country, particularly those of the last three months, Mendel N. Fisher, executive director, said: “Everywhere Jews are beginning to realize that one sure way of building the State of Israel as well as the Zionist movement on firm foundations, is to strengthen the Jewish National Fund. All the J.N.F. functions in the course of the last few months have invariably been a success.”
The board decided that a committee be appointed to work out a solution of all outstanding problems with the Jewish Agency with a view to submitting a joint proposal to the meeting of the Zionist Actions Committee which is to take place in the middle of March in Jerusalem. Dr. Levine announced the appointment of the following as members of the committee: Dr. Harris J. Levine, Mrs. Louis Brill, Mendel N. Fisher, Rabbi Max Kirshblum, Dr. Samuel Margoshes, Abraham Redelheim and Louis Segal.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
