More than $3,000,000 was raised last night at a Midwest conference of the United Jewish Appeal here as over 300 Jewish leaders from 16 Midwest communities rallied to answer the emergency needs of some 54,000 Iraqi Jews to leave that country before May 31, the latest deadline for Israel-bound emigration set by the Iraq Government. The sum was contributed as an initial installment of the Midwest communities in advance of the launching of the 1951 U.J.A. national drive at Miami Beach February 16-18.
Israel’s Minister of Agriculture, Pinhas Lavon-Lubianiker, reaffirmed Israel’s pledge to keep open its doors to the homeless Jews of Europe and the Moslem countries, regardless of the sacrifices which must be made by the Israelis themselves. Minister Lavon told the conference that aiding the people of Israel means strengthening democracy in a key area of the world. He endorsed the U.J.A. as the major agency for aid to the Jewish state.
Dr. Joseph J. Schwartz, executive director of the U.J.A., hailed the Midwest conference’s contribution as the first large-scale reply to the urgent call received this week from the Iraqi Jews. The U.J.A. and all who support it are the backbone of the effort that must be made to bring thousands of homeless Jews to Israel from deadline areas before time runs out, he said.
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