The activities of the B’nai B’rith were lauded today by Vice President Richard Nixon in an address delivered at ceremonies marking the dedication of the organization’s new $1,600,000 national headquarters building here President Eisenhower, in a message addressed to B’nai B’rith president Philip M. Rlutznick, said that the new structure “is a welcome addition to the nation’s capital”
Mr. Nixon said B’nai B’rith demonstrated through its goal those things the free nations can offer the world. He stressed that a belief in God was the basis of American strength. He emphasized that as Jews foster Judaism they serve America. In the educational objectives of B’nai B’rith–to strengthen religious liberty and combat prejudice–he said there was no greater service to the cause of freedom. Action against discrimination was important to all Americans regardless of faith, he pointed out.
Mr. Nixon drew attention to the fact that B’nai B’rith charitable activities were not limited to the Jewish area. Such charitable assistance is extended to the world at large, he said. This, he added, supported America’s humanitarian approach in its international relationships. Mrs. Eleanor Roosevelt spoke later at a dedication luncheon A number of dignitaries, members of Congress, and other notables, participated in the ceremony.
B’NAI B’RITH ADOPTS RESOLUTIONS ON CIVIL RIGHTS IN SOUTH
B’nai B’rith adopted a resolution at its 114th annual meeting here saying that president Eisenhower’s new Civil Rights Commission can give “powerful support” to “law abiding millions in the South who, regardless of their feelings about integration, have displayed a fundamental respect for constitutional authority and the decencies of American life. “The resolution called the new commission to” vigorously expose those irresponsible, small in number, who have been encouraging violence and disorder for the purpose of preventing enjoyment by Negroes of their full constitutional rights.”
In other resolutions, B’nai B’rith condemned “the growing tendency” toward sectarian religious instruction in public schools. A resolution said this trend results “both in a weakening of the public school and a water-down of religion” and called instead for greater emphasis on worship in the home and in churches and synagogues.
Another resolution criticized Congress for failing to deal with “fundamental inequities” in the McCarran-Walter Immigration Act. It was pointed out that “immigration need not be a burden but can be a source of economic and scientific strength for our nation.”
Mr. Klutznick, B’nai B’rith president who is also a U.S. delegate to the United Nations, told the annual meeting that “the Bill of Rights, as the core of American policy, can travel faster than sputniks” in winning adherents among the neutral nations of Asia and Africa. Maurice Bisgyer, executive vice president of the organization, reported that there was a renascence of Judaism in Western Europe and an “increasing status” for Jewish communities throughout Latin America. He attributed this growth to “the capacity of Jewish life to renew itself in lands where the democratic spirit is present.”
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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.
