In response to a letter by Robert Zweiman, national commander of the Jewish War Veterans, the Mobil Oil Corporation is donating $15,000 to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee to help the people of Lebanon, it was announced by the JWV. According to the announcement, Jack Hayes, manager of Middle East public affairs for Mobil Oil, telephoned the JWV here to say the money was on its way to the JDC.
Hayes said this donation was a consequence of Zweiman’s letter to W. P. Tavoulareas, president of Mobil Oil. In the letter, Zweiman questioned the omission of the JDC in Mobil’s recent widely circulated ad, “Who’s Listening to the People of Lebanonese?” The text of the ad expressed concern for the Lebanese and urged Americans to join Mobil Oil in contributing humanitarian aid for “medical supplies, food and clothing.”
It asked people to contribute “to one of the many groups now seeking such funds, “and listed seven charitable organizations: American Friends Service Committee, American Red Cross, CARE, Church World Services of the National Council of Churches, Save the Children Federation, U.S. Committee for UNICEF, and Catholic Relief Services.
Zweiman observed in his letter that “the failure to mention JDC reflects negatively on the integrity of the ad.” In response, Hayes explained that the ad, which ran July 2, used only the agencies that Mobil was aware of at the time; the omission of JDC was unintentional. Although Mobil would not be running the ad again Hayes stated Mobil would contribute $15,000 to the JDC in line with contributions already given to charities listed in the ad.
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.
