Problems concerning the fight which American Jews are conducting against anti-Semitism in this country were discussed here today at the fifth annual meeting of the national council of the Joint Defense Appeal, attended by 400 delegates from all parts of the country. The Appeal is the fund-raising arm of the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai B’rith.
It was reported at the meeting that American colleges today are “undergoing a quiet, democratic revolution which is perhaps the most encouraging factor in the entire effort to eliminate racial and religious discrimination from American life.” The report was presented by Benjamin Epstein, national director of the A.D.L.
Jacob Blaustein, president of the American Jewish Committee and one of the principal speakers, said that Judaism is not compatible with any form of totalitarianism. He emphasized that the role of citizens in a democracy is to “eliminate those sore spots in our democratic society–those fostering religious and racial hatreds and the social, economic and political discriminations resulting from them which give to Communist propaganda its attractions.”
BLAUSTEIN URGES “SUBSTANTIAL AND EFFECTIVE” AID TO ISRAEL
On the subject of the relationship between Israel and the American Jewish community, Mr. Blaustein declared that “fundamentally there is no incompatibility between our firm resolve to continue to strengthen and develop our Jewish communal, cultural and religious institutions in America, and at the same time aid Israel in a substantial and effective way.”
“Far from being inconsistent with one another,” he asserted “the strengthening of Jewish life in America and the aiding of Israel are complementary to one another. As an indication of this, it must be apparent that American Jews would be profoundly affected by an economic catastrophe in Israel.”
Israel cannot meet its economic problems “without aid from American Jews,” he said. By the same taken, Mr. Blaustein continued, “unless the position of the Jew in America is kept sound and safe we will be of little use to Jews in Israel or elsewhere.”
Justice Meier Steinbrink, national chairman of the A.D.L., said the principal problem facing American Jewry is “group slander.” The campaign “thus far has been carried forward on a retail level,” he said, adding that “now it has entered the wholesale business of smearing them by groups.” He urged liberal forces in America to “retain their grip in the fight against Communism” and to prevent “neo-Fascists from seizing control of the struggle.”
Dr. John Slawson, A.J.C. executive vice-president, warned that the American tradition of religious freedom “for all guarantees the integrity of our religious institutions and forms the basis of a harmonious and mutually helpful existence together.” Deploring religious tensions, Dr. Slawson maintained that “democracy and true religion, regardless of denominational persuasion, are inextricably linked together by their high regard for the dignity of the individual.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
