Mobilization on an unprecedented scale of the philanthropic resources of the New York Jewish community, to sustain and succor Jews whose survival is in danger anywhere in the world, will be undertaken in the five boroughs of the city and Westchester, Nassau and Suffolk Counties, May 16-18.
Former New York City OTB head, Howard Samuels, who has agreed to be chairman of the “Mobilization for Survival” and Elaine Siris Winik, co-chairman, today announced the plans for and objectives of the effort, and began recruiting the thousands of volunteers it will require, at the New York Hilton. They addressed 3,000 Women’s Division workers for the United Jewish Appeal and Federation of Jewish Philanthropies Joint Campaign, gathered in the New York Hilton’s Grand Ballroom for their annual rally, Abba Eban, former Foreign Minister of Israel, was one of the guest speakers at the rally. (See separate story.)
“There are ominous and accelerating signs,” Samuels noted in his remarks, “that the world climate is changing and its chill winds touch us all. Not just Jews alone. For wherever Jews have been made the scapegoats of changing times, the society in which they lived has inevitably suffered,” Samuels mentioned among the “ominous signs” the growth of boycotts and terrorism all over the world, much of it directed against the people of Israel; the support for terrorists and hostility toward Israel that was in evidence at the recent United Nations General Assembly; and the rising crime and violence to which so many of New York’s poor and aged Jews are subject.
MOBILIZATION PLANS OUTLINED
Plans for the “Mobilization for Survival” during the weekend of the Shavuot Holy Days –which traditionally mark the Giving of the Law by Moses and the ancient Festival of the First Fruits of the Harvest — were outlined by Mrs. Winik. They include:
On Friday evening and Saturday, May 16 and 17, special Sabbath services devoted to the “Mobilization for Survival” in synagogues throughout the metropolitan area, at which rabbis are expected to call upon their congregants to transform their concerns over recent ominous events into acts of conscience.
On Sunday morning, May 18, visits to 50,000 or more prospective contributors by a minimum of 5,000 volunteer workers operating out of 100 “Survival Centers” to be set up throughout New York City, Westchester and Long Island.
On Sunday evening, May 18, fund-raising parties in at least 2,000 homes throughout the metropolitan area, to be held in conjunction with a “Survival Spectacular” scheduled to be broadcast by WPIX-TV, Channel 11.
The “Mobilization for Survival is expected to be a climactic event in the first UJA and Federation Joint Campaign, which is currently under way. The primary objective of the 1975 Joint Campaign is the raising of a Regular Fund to provide basic support for both UJA, which finances aid to Jews in distress and danger zones overseas as well as those being resettled in Israel, America and other havens, and Federation, whose agencies provide health, welfare, educational and recreational services in New York and its suburbs.
Donors also have the opportunity to contribute to the Israel Emergency Fund which goes in its entirety to UJA-financed humanitarian programs in Israel. Unless donors indicate otherwise, all contributions go into the Regular Fund.
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