Irving Bernstein, executive vice-chairman of the United Jewish Appeal said today that allegations that the UJA loses money because of the recent political and economic scandals in Israel “are not true” and that “although we deplore” those misdeeds in Israel “they are not a factor in American Jewish life.”
Addressing a press conference for Israeli correspondents in New York at the UJA headquarters here, Bernstein refuted press reports in Israel and the United States that following the scandals in Israel some Jews decided not to pay their pledges to the UJA. He contended that the UJA “shrinkage” from pledges to cash is only a marginal five percent, which he described as the lowest “shrinkage” of any fund-raising organization in the United States.
“Jews pay 95 percent of what they are pledging.” Bernstein said, adding that pledges are not met, only in cases of death or “when business goes bad.”
Bernstein disclosed, however, that pledges for 1975 are expected to be $550 million compared to $675 million in 1974. He added that “for the first time in UJA history” there will be a raise in cash contributions to the UJA while the pledges are down. He said that cash donations in 1975 will reach the sum of $300 million compared to $220 million last year. Up to date, the UJA received $400 million in pledges and $118 million in cash for this year.
Bernstein attributed the decline in pledges and cash to the ill economic situation. “People are not worth this year what they were worth last year,” he explained, pointing out that despite the economic difficulties “money comes in” because “there is a general Jewish unease” in view of the political developments since the Yom Kippur War and their effect on the Jews.
Bernstein also said that this month “will be the biggest collection month we ever had,” He said that Premier Yitzhak Rabin’s visit next week to the United States and the Mobilization for Survival campaign launched by the UJA recently are the reasons that more donations will be made to the UJA this month.
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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.
