Meyer Pesin, veteran American Zionist and communal leader, was elected national president of the Jewish National Fund of America at a meeting of the JNF board of directors held last Wednesday night.
Pesin was chosen to fill the unexpired term of his predecessor, Dr. Maurice S. Sage, who collapsed and died June 22 after he had presented Mrs. Betty Ford to the huge audience assembled at the JNF Bicentennial Dinner held that evening at the New York Hilton. Pesin previously served as JNF president from 1971 to 1975 and was succeeded in office by the late Dr. Sage. Since his death, Jack Lefkowitz, JNF national treasurer, was acting president.
Pesin, in a brief acceptance speech, pledged to dedicate himself to the development of the American Bicentennial Park in Israel, a project of the JNF of America which had been conceived during his prior administration. He termed the park “one of the greatest projects in the 75-year history of the JNF; a glorious evergreen tribute to the role of the Jew in 200 years of American history.”
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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.