The 42nd annual convention of the National Committee for Labor Israel adopted today a $5,000,000 goal for the 1966 Israel Histadrut campaign and an additional $2,000,000 for the American Histadrut Development Foundation.
The quota is based on the overall budget of the Histadrut Assistance Fund in Israel, which will amount to $10,630,000 in 1966, according to the report by Yehoshua Levy, Histadrut treasurer. The Histadrut executive will provide about half of this amount while the National Committee will seek the balance. The budget covers ten categories: health services, education and culture, vocational training, scholarship fund, mutual aid institutions, immigrant absorption, physical training, youth centers, aid to Arab workers and aid to religious workers.
The convention called upon all affiliated organizations and Jewish welfare funds throughout the country to mobilize the money for this ramified program. Special emphasis will be placed on sponsoring major health and cultural projects in immigrant communities in Israel and on the Histadrut scholarship fund for secondary and vocational training, according to Dr. Sol Stein, national director.
Aharon Becker, secretary-general of Histadrut, said in a message to the convention: "Histadrut in Israel is approaching its tenth convention in January, facing problems resulting from major social and economic changes and the increased membership of the Labor Federation, now approaching the first million. We are satisfied with the results of the last Knesset elections which also pose new tasks and commitments for Histadrut. In meeting and fulfilling them, we count on the continuous assistance from devoted friends and partners like those gathered in New York now at your convention for Labor Israel."
CLOSE TO $4,000,000 RAISED THIS YEAR, DR. STEIN REPORTS
President Johnson extended greetings to the convention in a message to Rabbi Jacob J. Weinstein, chairman of the National Committee for Labor Israel. "Over the years," the President said in his message, "Histadrut has played a significant role in helping the people of Israel to advance and achieve a fuller way of life. It has been a guiding force in Israel’s remarkable progress in the fields of medical care, vocational training, culture and education. May the future of your enterprise and of Histadrut be as productive and as fine of purpose as in the past."
Dr. Stein disclosed, in his annual report to the delegates, that $3,008,000 had been raised during the fiscal year ending September 30, with an additional $902,000 raised by Pioneer Women, the Women’s Labor Zionist Organization, one of the highest totals in the 41 years of fund-raising by the organization.
Since its founding in 1924, the National Committee has raised $72,400,000 to help finance 1,032 projects and institutions in Israel. These include 601 medical centers, clinics, hospitals and related facilities; 146 cultural centers; 70 children’s institutions, including five children’s villages, old age homes, 47 vocational schools and training projects, 59 libraries, 27 synagogues and other religious institutions, and 25 sports centers and facilities. He said more than $500,000 had been transferred to the Histadrut Scholarship Fund in Israel during the past eight years, mainly for vocational training.
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