Prosperity is Not Detrimental to Jewish Life in U.s., Sachar Says

The convention of the National Jewish Welfare Board concluded here today with the adoption of a proposal authorizing the establishment of a new formula for maintaining the present level of the JWB services to local centers and to the armed forces on a non-deficit basis.

The plan, to go into effect in 1961, will tie a community’s “fair share” of the JWB budget for armed services work to local center budgets. The JWB constituents will, under the new formula, be given a more direct and immediate role in determining budget and program. The convention re-elected Solomon Litt, of New York, as president.

Addressing the more than 650 delegates last night, at the banquet session, Dr. Abram L. Sachar, president of the Brandeis University, referred to assertions made by Israel Premier David Ben-Gurion and by Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the World Zionist Organization, that prosperity might have a detrimental effect on Jewish religious and cultural life in this country.

He termed such statements “a misreading of Jewish history.” He also rejected the idea that only in Israel is a genuine normal, substantive Jewish life possible. “An eclipse for American Jews would become a tragic apocalypse for vulnerable little Israel as well,” he said.

At the same time, Dr. Sachar emphasized that “It is clear that the miracle of a resurgent Israel has righted an imbalance, for there is need for a strong Jewish life in Israel, even as there is need for strong Jewish communities in every part of the democratic world.” He added that “Israel desperately needs American strength, its practical know-how, its diplomatic leverage, its cultural and religious syncretism, and American Jewry has much to gain from the inspiration of Israel.”