National Commission on Welfare Work Among Students to Be Formed

The creation of a national commission on welfare work among Jewish students at American universities will be considered at a conference to be held in New York on March or Representatives of eleven national Jewish organizations are expected to attend the conference which will be held at Temple Emanu-El. Rabbi David Philipson of Cincinnati, who is chairman of the conference, will preside at the session.

The conference will seek to develop a plan of activity that will coordinate the work of the religious agencies now engaged in work among Jewish students and will aim to eliminate duplication of effort.

At the last conference held in New York City more than a year ago, a resolution was adopted calling for the creation of a permanent national Commission on Jewish work at Colleges. A Committee was also appointed at that time to make a study of the work of the various agencies and draft a constitution. The progress made by this Committee will be presented in a report at this conference.

The conference was originally called in behalf of the Commission on Jewish Education, representing the Union of American Hebrew Congregations and the Central Conference of American Rabbis, which at one of its meetings authorized its sub-committee on adult and university education to call together representatives of national Jewish organizations conducting welfare work among Jewish students, for the purpose of creating a national body that would coordinate the work of the various agencies in this field. Dr. H. G. Enelow, of New York, is chairman of the sub-committee.

The first conference of national organizations was held a year ago April at Harvard University, at which meeting a committee was appointed to make a study of the work of the various agencies, and prepare a plan of cooperation. The following committee was then appointed: Dr. H. G. Enelow, chairman, Professor Nathan Isaacs, Mr. Alfred A. Benesch, Mrs. Samuel Spiegel, Mrs. Maurice Steinfeld, Dr. Jacob Kohn and Rabbi George Zepin.

Among the organizations who will send representatives to the conference are: Union of American Hebrew Congregations, National Federation of Temple Sisterhoods, National Federation of Temple Brotherhoods, Central Conference of American Rabbis, United Synagogue of America, Rabbinical Assembly, Women’s League of the United Synagogue, Young People’s League United Synagogue, Independent Order B’nai Brith, Intercollegiate Menorah, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations, and Jewish Welfare Board, and Jewish Chautauqua Society.

Mrs. Fritz Kreisler, wife of the noted violinist, was the recipient of the Golden Cross of Honor from Dr. Frederick Fischerauer, Austrian Consul General at New York. The presentation was made at a luncheon in her honor at the Ritz-Carlton, New York. The President of Austria bestowed the medal on Mrs. Kreisler in recognition of her work during the war in organizing relief for suffering Viennese children.

Another victim of the suicide wave among students was Nathan P. Weissman, 19, a premedical student at the University of Pittsburgh, who ended his life yesterday by shooting. The youth, who entered the university two weeks ago after graduating from high school, committed suicide in his father’s barrel shop. The underscored page of a newspaper clipping reading “Suicide is not necessarily due to insanity”, was found in his pocket.