U.S. Congress Pays Tribute to Hadassah; Hailed by Speakers in Both Houses

The United States Congress today paid tribute to Hadassah as members of the House and Senate lauded the achievements of the organizations in speeches from the floor, while others requested permission to have statements inserted in the Congressional Record. The occasion was the celebration of Hadassah’s 50th anniversary.

In the House, some 18 members spoke and a similar number asked to have statements inserted in the Congressional Record. In the Senate, speeches by some 12 members were made, with several additional statements to be inserted in the Congressional Record. Congressman Emanuel Celler of New York, and Senator Jacob Javits were responsible for organizing the tribute to Hadassah in their respective chambers.

Uniformly, the speeches paid tribute to Hadassah’s service to Israel and its raising of medical standards in what was described as what had previously been one of the most disease-ridden areas of the world. Indicative of the high regard with which Hadassah is held was the fact that tributes on both the House and Senate floors came from lawmakers representing districts in virtually every part of the nation.

Earlier, Hadassah leaders were the guests of Senators Javits, New York Republican, and Hubert Humphrey, Minnesota Democrat, at a private luncheon attended by some 20 members of the Senate. They heard Sen. Humphrey praise the organization for “its half-century of dedicated and selfless service.” The Senator characterized the women of Hadassah as the symbol of “what is best in American womanhood.” In a statement read to the group on behalf of Sen. Javits, who had been unexpectedly called out of town, Hadassah’s long years of medical service were lauded. “The name of Hadassah has become synonymous with all that is good in social welfare work,” the Senator’s statement said.

Speaking at the luncheon, Mrs. Siegfried Kramarsky, national president of Hadassah, said that “in every age and every place, Jews have been able to invent techniques of spiritual and cultural survival, within their tradition and relevant to their contemporary circumstances. Hadassah was one such invention, peculiarly suited to American Jewish life in the Twentieth Century.”

Mrs. Rose Halprin, national chairman of the Hadassah Golden Jubilee, said that “for half a century, Hadassah’s articles of faith have molded its membership into a cohesive force. We believe that the Jewish people is an eternal people, that it is one people, that to assure its survival and its unity is the task of every successive Jewish generation. We believe that Israel reborn and the people of Israel settled on its own soil can create its own image, develop its own character, strive for its own perfection in a way that is impossible for any community in the Diaspora, and that to aid Israel in this task is the responsibility of all of us.

“We believe that Jewish communities everywhere and the Jewish community of Israel must be partners in the great task of survival. This is our credo; it helped us chart our course for one-half century; it leads us along the broad highway that is entry to the next 50 years,” Mrs. Halprin declared.