U. P. A. Leaders Point to Cash Receipts As Mark of Progress

The amount of $2,841,510 was received up to July 1 by the United Palestine Appeal in its 1927 campaign.

A comparison of this sum which represents the income of the first nine months of the present fiscal year. ending September 30th, with the cash receipts during the first nine months of the previous fiscal years, reveals the fact that this year’s income is in excess of that for the same period last year by $150,816.

This comparison is made in a statement issued by Judge William M. Lewis, national chairman of the United Palestine Appeal, and Emanuel Neumann, the chairman of the Executive Committee. The statement further declared that conservative estimates made of the income expected during the remaining three months will make the total income of the year exceed that of last year by $140,000. It is pointed out that there will remain outstanding a large amount in pledges which will be received during the early months of the coming fiscal year.

The statement goes on to say that this result should be regarded as satisfactory in view of the special difficulties which the activities for Palestine have encountered due to the economic crisis in Palestine. The fact that in spite of these difficulties the United Palestine Appeal has been able to achieve a better record than during the previous year, when optimism was at its peak, is ascribed in the statement, to the loyalty of American Jewry to the cause of the Jewish Homeland, and to the improvement in organization, publicity, and general administrative technique achieved by the National Headquarters and regional units of the organization.

“During the year additional bureaus were established in the Southern and Western states. One of the most important items in the expansion of the educational work is the publication of the ‘Palestine Pictorial,’ a monthly magazine sent to 35,000 contributors and featuring in graphic form the developments and possibilities of Palestine with special reference to the work of the Keren Hayesod, the National Fund, Hadassah, and the other organizations constituting the United Palestine Appeal.”

The statement expresses appreciation “for the notable help towards attaining these results received from Dr. Chaim Weizmann and the members of the various delegations of European leaders associated with him as well as from the large host of leaders and workers in the United States among whom specially distinguished services were rendered by Dr. Stephen S. Wise.

“The wisdom of conducting a federated effort on behalf of Palestine, which is represented by the United Palestine Appeal, is completely proven.” the statement contends, “by a comparison of the cash results obtained by the United Palestine Appeal during the two years of its existence with the results obtained during the previous two years by the three major funds constituting the United Palestine Appeal, namely the Keren Hayesod, the Jewish National Fund, and Hadassah. Including the estimates made for the remaining three months of the present fiscal year, the cash results of the United Palestine Appeal during the two years of its existence will total $6,620,000. During the previous two years the Keren Hayesod, the National Fund, and Hadassah, now embraced in the United Palestine Appeal, conducted independent fund-raising activities, the cash receipts of these three organizations totalled $4,520,927. In other words, the United Palestine Appeal will have registered an increase of about $2,100,000 over the efforts of its constituents during the last two years of their independent fund raising activities.”

The statement points out further that each one of the constituent organizations received and transmitted more money to Palestine for its various activities during the existence of the United Palestine Appeal than before. “Thus the Keren Hayesod, the principal partner in the union, has increased its remittances to Palestine during these two years by 24 per cent, the Jewish National Fund by over 100 per cent, and Hadassah by over 170 per cent. In addition, substantial sums were remitted for the Mizrachi institutions and the Hebrew University.

“The work of raising funds for Palestine,” the statement concludes, “has through the instrumentality of the United Palestine Appeal, been brought to a high grade of efficiency. On the one hand the Organization has developed definite and effective forms and technique in the shape of bureaus, local committees, a competent professional staff, education and publicity; and on the other hand, it has habituated scores of thousands of American Jews to crystallize and express their devotion to Palestine through the medium of financial sacrifice, the principal medium for bringing our cause nearer to realization. It is only necessary to continue the development of these two factors until the maximum results from the Jews of America are secure and maintained.”