Lavy M. Becker was elected president of the Federation of Jewish Community Services at a meeting of the board of trustees of the Federation held this weekend. Mr. Becker succeeds Cecil Usher who served as president for the past two years.
In taking office, Mr. Becker emphasized the need for planned community welfare priorities. “The social changes in the community-at-large,” he stated, “should lead to a re-examination of our own community priorities. In addition to bringing together all the health and welfare agencies for better planning, there is a need in the not too distant future to take a new look at the whole system of Jewish education in our community. We should also give careful consideration to improving our lines of communication within the Jewish community. In the light of changing social currents, we should endeavor to bring out the best of which our community is capable.”
An ordained rabbi and a trained social worker, Mr. Becker spent many years in the U.S. and abroad. During the second World War, he was called upon by the Jewish Welfare Board to undertake a survey of parts of the West Indies on the needs of establishing U.S.O. centers for American service personnel in those areas. During the post-war period he worked with refugees and displaced persons in central Europe in behalf of the Joint Distribution Committee. Since returning to his native city of Montreal, Mr. Becker has become engaged in business but continued very active interest and participation in communal affairs as a volunteer leader and he has accepted important responsibilities at local, national and international levels.
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