“American Jewry must assume a leading position and responsibility in the problems of world Jewry,” declared Felix M. Warburg, Chairman of the Administrative Committee of the Jewish Agency, in addressing the students of the Training School for Jewish Social Work yesterday afternoon on the opening day of school at the School auditorium. Mr. Warburg, who is Chairman of the Joint Distribution Committee, which dispensed more than $70,000,000 since the beginning of the World War on behalf of American Jewry, is also Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Training School for Jewish Social Work.
Speaking before a large assembly of the faculty, alumni, incoming students, and communal leaders, Mr. Warburg outlined the position of the Jews in the principal countries of the world, and stated that no group in world Jewry is as fortunately situated as American Jewry.
“The Jews in Russia,” said Mr. Warburg, “are in no position to help others. They need help themselves and the American Jews are doing a great deal to help them through the Joint Distribution Committee and other agencies. German Jewry is just now concerned with its own problems due to the recent success of the Hitlerites. Although they look upon this as only a passing phase, they are nevertheless deeply concerned and must use some of their strength and resources to combat this vicious attack on the Jews of Germany. German Jewry is, however, standing by nobly and is doing everything in its power to help world Jewry. The Jews in Poland are in no condition to help, since they are in desperate economic straits and need all the help we can give them. The same is true of the Jews in Roumania and in most of the other countries of Europe. The Jews of France and England are mere handfuls compared with American Jewry, but they are doing their share.”
American Jewry, according to Mr. Warburg, is the best situated Jewish group in the world from the standpoint of their numbers and their economic and political position, despite the present depression. “It is natural, therefore,” he said, “that they should be expected to assume their position of leadership and responsibility.” He declared that students beginning their studies in Jewish social service could not do better than to begin to think at once in terms of the wider aspects of Jewish philanthrophy.
Louis E. Kirstein of Boston, vice-president of Filene’s and president of the School, stressed the increasingly important position which Jewish social workers are coming to occupy throughout the United States and called attention to the fact that some social workers have been called to positions of national and international importance and prominence.
Maurice J. Karp, director of the School, outlined the progress which the School has made since its organization in 1925 and spoke of the important position which the School has come to occupy in Jewish life in America and the contribution which it is making to Jewish communal work by making available the trained personnel to carry on the many activities on which American Jews spend in the neighborhood of $40,000,000 annually. Dr. Solomon Lowenstein, executive director of the Federation for the Support of Jewish Philanthropic Societies of New York City, welcomed the students for the Board of Professional Advisors of the School of which he is Chairman.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
