The amount that American Jews should seek to raise through the 1955 United Jewish Appeal for Israel’s settlement and aid to distressed Jews in North Africa and Europe will be set by more than 1,200 community delegates at the UJA’s annual national conference here December 10, 11 and 12.
Underscoring two major factors which will influence the delegates’ decision, the urgent need to speed emigration from North Africa and the strain to Israel’s economy involved in the absorption of the newcomers, was a letter from Edward M. M. Warburg. UJA general chairman, now in Jerusalem as head of UJA’s 35-man study mission, and Dr. J. Schwartz, executive vice chairman, to American Jewish communal leaders.
In their letter they noted that they have been advised that “while there is time,” Israel’s leaders have decided that “30,000 Jews from Tunisia and Morocco must be brought out promptly.”They indicated that the cost of resettling the North African Jews might run as high as $35,000,000 and showed concern over the possible effect of fresh large-scale immigration on the Israel economy, which has been making excellent progress.
Principal speakers at the conference will be Levi Eshkol, Israel Minister of Finance, and Bruce McDaniel, first director of the United States Foreign Operations Administration for Economic Aid to Israel. The conference will also hear the report of the study mission, which is expected to play an important part in the delegates’ decision on the amount of funds which most be raised.
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