A twelve-point relief and rehabilitation program of the $170,000,000 drive proclaimed by the United Jewish Appeal was outlined tonight by Henry Morgenthau, Jr., general chairman of the U.J.A., at a closed dinner meeting of 150 Jewish leaders from various parts of the country, held at the Ambassador Hotel.
Mr. Morgenthau announced that the national drive will be officially launched at a two-day “standard-setting conference” which will open on Feb. 22 in Washington. A record number of 4,000 communities will participate in the first phase of the United Jewish Appeal campaign, he stated, estimating that an army of more than 150,000 volunteers would be mobilized throughout the country “to bring the humanitarian challenge of this campaign of survival and reconstruction to every element in the American community.”
Declaring that “unless we help them now to emerge from the misery and uncertainty of the post-war period, the first victims of Hitler will have lost their struggle for freedom and peace,” Mr. Morgenthau listed the following urgent objectives of the U.J.A. campaign:
1. Relief and rehabilitation of large sections of the Jewish survivors in Poland, Rumania and Hungary.
2. Supplementary food, retraining and preparation for emigration for 250,000 Jewish displaced persons in Germany, Austria and Italy.
3. Medical care, education and rehabilitation of most of the 170,000 remaining Jewish children in Europe.
4. Emigration assistance for homeless Jews who can be admitted to Palestine, the United States and other countries.
5. Large-scale shipment of medicines, clothing, food and other supplies to distress areas in Europe.
6. Medical assistance and maintenance for newly-arrived refugees in Palestine. (Under present regulations 1,500 refugees are permitted to enter Palestine each month.)
7. Retraining and rehabilitation of former inmates of concentration camps who reach Palestine.
8. The acquisition of land in Palestine for the expansion of Jewish settlement and agricultural development.
9. The establishment of new rural settlements in Palestine and the development of new opportunities for the absorption of large masses of Jewish immigrants from Europe.
10. Financial assistance to refugees who find a haven in the United States to help them during the initial period of adjustment to American life.
11. Help for Jewish children, many of them orphans, who are coming to the United States from displaced persons camps.
12. Resettlement, retraining and integration aid for newcomers to this country.
Mr. Morgenthau called upon all Americans regardless of race, creed or color to share in ” this life-saving and life-rebuilding endeaver which represents a major factor in the building of a better world of freedom and peace for all mankind.” He emphasized that the national campaign of the United Jewish Appeal merits the generous support of the entire nation. “It is the solemn responsibility of every American to save the victims of Hitler and help them regain their place in society on a level of brotherhood and equality with all other peoples, ” he said. “This task is part of our program of winning the peace.”
Following the adoption of the 12-point program, plans were drawn up at tonight’s meeting for carrying on the nationwide campaign.
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.
