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White House Parley on Refugees Opens Today; Jewish Leaders Participate

May 21, 1959
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Representatives of major Jewish organizations in this country will participate in a two-day conference on refugees which opens here tomorrow in the White House. The conference was called by President Eisenhower, who expressed concern over the plight of still unsettled refugees from various countries.

The purpose of the conference is to make plans for American participation in the World Refugee Year opening July 1. The White House conference will be followed up on Friday by the first formal meeting of the United States Committee for Refugees on which the Joint Distribution Committee and other Jewish agencies are represented.

President Eisenhower today issued a proclamation inviting all American citizens “to support generously, either through the voluntary welfare agencies or the U.S. Committee for Refugees, the programs developed in furtherance of the World Refugee Year for the assistance of refugees.”

In the proclamation, the President outlined the aims of the year as being: “To focus interest on the refugee problem; to encourage additional financial contributions from governments, voluntary agencies, and the general public for solution of the problem; and to provide additional opportunities for permanent refugee solutions through voluntary repatriation, resettlement or integration, with due regard for humanitarian considerations and in accordance with the freely expressed wishes of the refugees themselves.”

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