MORE THAN 2,000 DELEGATES TO HADASSAH’S TWENTY-THIRD ANNUAL CONVENTION WERE URGED TONIGHT BY THE ORGANIZATION’S RETIRING PRESIDENT TO RALLY ALL AVAILABLE RESOURCES “FOR THE STRUGGLE THAT LIES BEFORE US.” THE CONVENTION MARKS THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF HADASSAH’S FOUNDING.
MRS. ROSE G. JACOBS, OPENING WHAT WAS TERMED THE LARGEST ZIONIST CONVENTION EVER HELD IN THE UNITED STATES, DECLARED THE POLITICAL SITUATION “DEMANDS OF US INCREASED EFFORT ON BEHALF OF VITAL, CONSTRUCTIVE WORK IN PALESTINE.”
“THERE IS NO ALTERNATIVE EXCEPT FOR US, AS JEWS, TO CONTINUE OUR WORK IN PALESTINE,” SAID THE RECENTLY-ELECTED MEMBER OF THE JEWISH AGENCY EXECUTIVE. “WE MUST RALLY ALL OUR AVAILABLE RESOURCES, MATERIAL, INTELLECTUAL AND SPIRITUAL, FOR THE STRUGGLE THAT LIES BEFORE US.”
A MESSAGE FROM PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT SAID: “I WISH TO EXTEND MY SINCERE FELICITATIONS UPON THE TWENTY-FIFTH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FOUNDING OF HADASSAH AND TO EXPRESS THE HOPE THAT THE HIGH IDEALS OF PUBLIC SERVICE WHICH CHARACTERIZE THE ORGANIZATION MAY CONTINUE TO PREVAIL.”
MESSAGES WERE RECEIVED ALSO FROM GOVERNOR LEHMAN, HIGH COMMISSIONER SIR ARTHUR GRENFELL WAUCHOPE, DR. CHAIM WEIZMANN, MENACHEM M. USSISHKIN, THE WORLD ZIONIST EXECUTIVE, AND MANY ORGANIZATIONS.
TONIGHT’S PROGRAM INCLUDED ADDRESSES BY MISS HENRIETTA SZOLD, FOUNDER OF HADASSAH, AND DR. STEPHEN S. WISE. MISS SZOLD ARRIVED FROM PALESTINE THIS WEEK TO TOUR THE COUNTRY IN BEHALF OF THE YOUTH ALIYAH CAMPAIGN.
THE DELEGATES TO THE CONVENTION REPRESENT MORE THAN 300 CHAPTERS OF HADASSAH IN 46 STATES WITH A TOTAL MEMBERSHIP OF MORE THAN 60,000. MRS. ALEXANDER LAMPORT OF NEW YORK, CONVENTION CHAIRMAN, SAID ONE OF THE REASONS FOR THE UNPRECEDENTED ATTENDANCE WAS THE ANXIETY OVER THE CRITICAL SITUATION IN PALESTINE. THE SESSIONS ARE BEING HELD AT HOTEL CHELSEA.
THE ENLARGEMENT OF HADASSAH ACTIVITIES IN PALESTINE WAS REFLECTED IN A REPORT OF MRS. ETTA LASKER ROSENSOHN, THE TREASURER, WHICH SHOWED THAT THE RECORD TOTAL OF $679,925 HAD BEEN SENT TO THE HOLY LAND IN THE YEAR 1936-37. TOTAL COLLECTIONS IN THE SAME PERIOD WERE $628,456.
THE PRINCIPAL NEW PROJECT OF HADASSAH IS THE ROTHSCHILD-HADASSAH-UNIVERSITY HOSPITAL AND MEDICAL CENTER, ON WHICH $179,545 WAS EXPENDED. A SPECIAL REPORT ON THE PROJECT URGED THAT A FINAL FUND-RAISING EFFORT OF $100,000 BE LAUNCHED TO COMPLETE THE BUILDING.
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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.