Upa Proclaims 1945 Budget of $35,300,000; Backs Plan for 1,000,000 Immigrants

A resolution calling upon the Jews of America to support the plan of the Jewish Agency for Palestine for the postwar settlement in Palestine of 1,000,000 Jewish refugees – beginning with 20,000 war orphans from Europe – within a period of two years was adopted today by 2,000 delegates attending the Annual Conference for Palestine sponsored by the United Palestine Appeal at the Hotel Biltmore, It was emphasized that in order to achieve this goal it would be essential to obtain freedom of Jewish immigration into Palestine from any country, material and financial assistance by the United Nations, and the powers of government for the Jewish community in Palestine.

The United Palestine Appeal and its agencies, the Palestine Foundation Fund and the Jewish National Fund, will require $35,300,000 in 1945, it was stated at the conference. During the past year these agencies expended a total of $25,800,000. Of this sum $10,800,000 was spent by the Jewish National Fund and $14,900,000 was spent by the Jewish Agency and the Palestine Foundation Fund. The expansion of every aspect of the program of upbuilding to meet the need for rescue, immigration and resettlement makes it imperative that greater financial resources be mobilized, it was pointed out. In the current year the Jewish Agency and Palestine Foundation Fund will require $17,700,000; the Jewish National Fund $16,600,000.

The importance of Palestine as the “primary hope for the solution of the problem of Jewish refugees” was stressed by James G. Mcdonald, Chairman of President Roosevelt’s Advisory Committee on Political Refugees and former League of Nations High Commissioner for Refugees coming from Germany, addressing the closing session of the conference. Mr. Mcdonald declared on the basis of a comprehensive study of the refugee problem during the past twenty-five years that it is essential that the Great Powers “be made to understand that the tragedy of the refugees constitutes a major problem in the planning and preparation for permanent peace.”

Other speakers at the dinner included Arthur Creech Jones, British Laborite Member of Parliament who is now visiting this country; Ira A. Hirschmann, special representative of the War Refugee Board in Turkey; Hon. Nathaniel L. Goldstein, Attorney-General of the State of New York; Rudelf G. Sonneborn, Chairman of the National Council of the United Palestine Appeal, and Sylvan Gotshal, President of the United Jewish Appeal of Greater New York who was chairman of the dinner committee and presided at the session. The afternoon session which preceded the dinner was addressed by Dr. Stephen S. Wise, Dr. Nahum Goldmann, Judge Morris Rothenberg, Judge Bernard A. Rosenblatt, Dr. Israel Goldstein, and others.