U. J. A. Calls Emergency Parley on Emigration of Jews from East Europe

Some 200 key American Jewish leaders have been called to an extraordinary session of the National Campaign Cabinet of the United Jewish Appeal at the Savoy-Hilton here next Monday to consider a mounting resettlement emergency in Israel growing out of the sudden upsurge of immigration, particularly from Eastern Europe, it was announced today by UJA general chairman Morris W. Berinstein.

Outside of the Soviet Union, the largest Eastern European Jewish comm unity is in Rumania, with more than 250, 000 Jews. It is estimated that about 40, 000 Jews still remain in Poland.

Mr. Berinstein termed the enlarged emergency session of the UJA’s top planning body “one of the most important UJA meetings since World War II” It was called after UJA officers convened here earlier this week and heard Levi Eshkol, Israel’s Minister of Finance, present the full implications of the impact on Israel of this expanded immigration expected to reach 8, 000 in January and a possible total of 100, 000 during 1959.

Mr. Eshkol, who just arrived in the United States, told the UJA leaders that the migration of Jews permitted to leave for Israel has now reached such proportions that it will threaten Israel’s entire immigrant absorption program unless large new resources are immediately forthcoming.

“In the light of the new immigration developments,” Mr. Berinstein said, “it is obvious that the forthcoming special UJA meeting on January 19 will be one of the most important gatherings of American Jewish leadership since World War II. A great new turn in American Jewish humanitarian thinking and objectives must result from this emergency meeting.”

Mr. Berinstein envisioned that “the key American Jewish leadership will come together with representatives of Israel’s people to reorient both Jewish communities to a completely new concept for the 1959 campaign year, a campaign that must swiftly enlarge its scope and its intensity.”