Ort Spent $2,390,000 Last Year on Work in Twenty-four Countries

A sum exceeding $2,390,000 was spent last year by the ORT in maintaining 270 institutions in 24 countries where Jews are being taught to become skilled workers, it was reported here today at the annual meeting of the executive of the World ORT Union.

Dr. Aron Syngalowsky, chairman of the executive, also reported that the ORT’s budget for 1952 is $2,470,000. The ORT received $950,000 from the Joint Distribution Committee last year, he said, and will receive $1,000,000 in 1952. The remainder of the organization’s budget is raised in other countries than the United States.

The number of students in ORT courses throughout the world last year totalled 19,174, as compared with 21,294 in 1950, Dr. Syngalowski stated. He explained that the drop was due to the fact that the organization had contracted its operations in Germany and Austria as the Jewish DP population dwindled and because the ORT has no figures on the numbers of students in its Chinese schools. He revealed that the ORT has had no communication with the Chinese ORT in over a year.

In other countries, the ORT leader reported, the student body has increased and 30 new operations were established last year at a cost of $500,000. These included: nine day schools with four-year technical courses in Israel, Iran and Tunis, and 21 centers for adults. In addition, 26 laboratories and workshops were opened in existing student centers. Some 3,780 students were graduated from ORT courses and over 6,000 left in the middle to immigrate to Israel.

Reporting specifically on the Israeli program of ORT, Dr. Syngalowsky disclosed that new schools were erected by the organization in three Israeli municipalities. New activities and courses were introduced in 19 centers in the Jewish State where workers come for four-month refresher courses. In addition, the ORT founded a publication company for the issuance of technical books in Hebrew.