“Continued insistence on meeting overseas needs to the virtual exclusion of religious and cultural needs at home will result in spiritual bankruptcy of American Jewish life,” Dr. Maurice N. Eisendrath, president of the Union of American Hebrew Congregations, declared in an open letter today to Henry Morgenthau, Jr., general chairman of the United Jewish Appeal.
Dr. Eisendrath took strong exception to reported remarks made by Mr. Morgenthau at a recent meeting of the Federation of Jewish Women’s Organizations in New York. “Mr. Morgenthau’s continued demands that urgent home needs be postponed until overseas problems are solved imperil the whole structure of American Judaism.” he said.
“Whereas the leaders of the American synagogue have given unstintingly of their means and of their time to the cause which you have so heroically headed,” Dr. Eisendrath stated, “almost invariably of late we have discovered that the leaders in the herculean works of philanthropy and physical restoration have denied even the most infinitesimal splinters of their time or of their means to religious or cultural pursuits in America.”
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.
