U.J.A. National Convention Adopts Plans for Raising More Cash

The two-day National Report Conference of the United Jewish Appeal, attended by 750 leaders from all parts of the country, concluded here today with the presentation by delegates of $5,000,000 towards the current special effort of the UJA to raise $50,000,000 in cash by the end of the year. More than $40,000,000 has been raised to date.

Morris W. Berinstein, chairman of the UJA’s National Cash Campaign, moved adoption of plans for raising the $10,000,000 still required on the $50,000,000 goal, urging “communities to continue to press vigorous local cash collection efforts to help the UJA meet the mounting needs that confront us at every turn.” He stressed that in a parallel effort this year, the UJA raised over $63,000,000 in behalf of the Jewish Agency. This was made possible by the action of communities in securing five-year loans from their local banks. However, he warned that the effect of the loan would be weakened “unless sufficient campaign cash is forthcoming on the regular UJA campaign.”

Edward M. M. Warburg. UJA general chairman, announced the Appeal has formed a special study mission of 33 business, industrial and philanthropic leaders who will leave this week for Europe, Israel and other areas to assess Jewish needs preparatory to UJA’s 1955 campaign. The mission’s findings and recommendations will be submitted to the UJA annual national conference in December and will guide the delegates in setting UJA’s 1955 goal.

EBAN, GOLDMANN STRESS ISRAEL’S SECURITY PROBLEM

Addressing the delegates, Israel Ambassador Abba Eban said that he was glad to see leading world statesmen remind the Arab states of their duty to establish a permanent peace with Israel, but that the concern of the Jewish State for its safety keeps mounting in the face of political and military reinforcement which the Arabs are receiving from the Western Powers.

“It should not be beyond the resources of diplomacy” to solve the Arab-Israel dispute, he said. He emphasized that if the troubled Arab-Israel relations are “frankly and seriously confronted” a solution can be found in the same way that so many other intractable international problems have been settled in recent months. The world now awaits a response from the Arabs on “a series of constructive and conciliatory proposals” advanced by the Israel Government, the Ambassador stated.

Dr. Nahum Goldmann told the delegates that the Arab arms expenditure of $500,000,000 annually exceeds the entire Israel budget. Decrying the “recent Western policy” of building Arab strength, Dr. Goldmann declared that this “has dimmed all hope” of the Arabs coming to terms with Israel.

Describing as the “worst feature” of Western policy its exclusion of Israel from all “plans to integrate the Middle East into global defense planning,” he declared this “represents a very grave political threat to the future of the new state and places the prospect of Mid-East regional defense planning under a serious handicap.” The Jewish Agency chairman emphasized that the United States and other Western Powers favor the Arab states, thus encouraging them “in their intransigence and belligerence.” He pointed out that the combination of the British decision to evacuate the Suez Canal zone and the U.S. decision to arm the Arab states is being carried out “despite the fact that neither Egypt nor any of the other Arab governments have recanted their declared aggressive intent against Israel.”

The conference also heard two Congressional leaders, Senator Estes Kefauver and Representative Jacob K. Javits express concern over United States policy as it is being carried out in the Middle East. Congressman Javits praised President Eisenhower’s recent statement that this country would not permit arms shipments “to be used for intimidation or aggression against any other country,” and urged that this definition of American policy be implemented with regard to Israel. He urged that the Administration take “full cognizance” of the “continued widespread concern about the furnishing of arms” to the Arabs “within the framework of the bi-partisan support which these protests have received, and suggested the following four-point bi-partisan program:

1. No arms be furnished to any Arab state maintaining a state of war with Israel and unwilling to negotiate peace or end its interference with freedom of international trade; 2. A Middle East regional defense organization be formed within the framework of the U.N. to include Israel and all Arab states receiving arms. Unless Israel is invited into such a defense organization she should be invited to join NATO either directly, or through an alliance with Greece and Turkey; 3. The United States, Britain and France should reaffirm their May, 1950 declaration on the inviolability of frontiers and armistice lines in the Near East; 4. The United States should transform its present economic and technical aid programs in the Middle East from a country-by-country project into an over-all regional system of aid.