Formation of a standing conference on European Jewish communal services, which will permit Jewish leaders in the various countries to cooperate in evaluating and dealing with their common problems, was announced here tonight at the 15th annual overseas conference of the Joint Distribution Committee and the first Assembly of European Jewish Communities. The three-day conference ended tonight with a banquet, at which tribute was paid to the JDC for its 46 years of service.
Astorre Mayer, president of the Jewish community of Milan, Italy, announced the establishment of the standing body, the outcome of more than a year’s discussions. Its formation was described as representing a new trend for cooperation by European Jewish leaders across national boundaries in dealing with common problems in the fields of health, education, social welfare and youth services.
The new organization will provide opportunity for the regular and systematic exchange of information, experience and ideas and will provide the basis for the Joint evaluation of trends and problems in communal services. The organization will maintain close cooperation with the JDC, and will establish subcommittees to deal with the different phases of communal activity.
Tribute to the JDC was paid tonight at the closing banquet by Herbert Agar, the Pulitzer Prize historian. He called JDC “the hero of a long struggle to alleviate injustice, save lives and enrich the lives that it saves.”
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