Judge Joseph M. Proskauer, president of the American Jewish Committee, today urged all sections of American Jewry to join in the common goal of fighting anti-Semitism in the United States. Proskauer told 300 Jewish leaders attending the third annual meeting of the national council of the Joint Defense Appeal here which opened today that events abroad have placed on American Jewry an increased obligation to defend their status in the United States.
Linking the fight against bigotry to the task of defending the new state of Israel, Proskauer said, “We must recognize that if we fail in our obligation of fighting anti-Semitism here, Jewry will have failed the world over.” He chided partisan viewpoints in Jewish life which seek to obtain priority for their interests over the common goal, and called for “the kind of unity which harbors differences and renders them benign.” “When history made inevitable that the preservation of Jewry required a Jewish state, I found no conflict between my 100 percent devotion to America and my feeling of kinship toward my fellow Jews in Israel,” Proskauer said.
An award for outstanding contributions to the fight against anti-Semitiem was made to Donald Oberdorfer, Atlanta civic leader and chairman of the executive committee of the national council. Presentation of the award was made jointly by the American Jewish Committee and the Anti-Defamation League of B’nai Brith in ceremonies following the opening of the session.
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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.
