A message from President Eisenhower greeting the American Council for Judaism which opens its 10th anniversary convention here Thursday, was received today by Leasing J. Rosenwald, president of the organization. About 400 delegates are expected at the convention.
“I welcome the opportunity,” Gen. Eisenhower wrote, “to congratulate you and your fellow delegates on your championship of the principle of freedom of religion and on your demonstration of the fact that differences of religion do not prevent Americans from sharing equally both the benefits and responsibilities of free citizenship.”
In a statement issued here today, the Council for Judaism emphasizes that the organization “was founded and dedicated to the principle that Judaism is a religion, not a nationality, and that the only homeland of Americans of Jewish faith is the United States of America.” The statement points out that “virtually unique among organizations of American Jews, the Council has taken the position, since 1948, that American Jews should consider the State of Israel as a foreign nation like any other with which the United States has normal relations.
“The Council has consistently called for a U.S. foreign policy–such as that now reportedly being adopted by the Eisenhower administration–of regarding the needs of the entire Middle East as a whole, rather than treating Israel as a favored nation in the area,” the statement says.
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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.
