“Continuation and worsening of the current economic recession” may bring a “sharp increase” in discrimination and group tensions, ” New York’s Governor Harriman warned here today. He spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony for the American Jewish Committee’s Institute of Human Relations, which will serve as the Committee’s headquarters. The eight story building, due for completion in the spring of 1959, is expected to cost $2, 000, 000.
Irving M. Engel, president of the AJC, told the gathering that the Institute would be “dedicated to improving man’s understanding of his fellow man and removing the roadblocks of ignorance and bigotry which stand in the way of such understanding. ” A. M. Son-nabend, chairman of the AJC Institute development program, said that more than $1, 200, 000 had already been raised from private sources for the Institute.
The Institute will serve as a hub for research and practical application, it was announced at the ceremony. Scholars and graduate students will utilize the Institute’s modern scientific facilities for pursuing studies in intergroup and human relations. The Institute will include a library equipped for the study of civil rights, civil liberties, intergroup relations; and a social science research division. It will also include a Jewish Community Service Center, the basic functions of which will be to make available special services for Jewish community needs.
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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.
