The problems besetting world Jewry as a result of the refugee situation can be met only through centralized and authoritative leadership and direction, the National Conference of Jewish Social Welfare was told tonight by Prof. Joseph P. Chamberlain, a member of the President’s Advisory Committee on Refugees and chairman of the National Coordinating Committee.
Addressing a session devoted to the problems of emigre adjustment in the United States, Prof. Chamberlain cited as proof of the advantage of centralized over individual action the record of the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee in the case of the 907 refugees on board the German liner St. Louis. Prof. Chamberlain said that havens were granted the refugees because the governments concerned knew the Joint Distribution Committee and had confidence in its ability to discharge the responsibilities which it had promised to resume.
Questions taken up by other speakers were resettlement of refugees in sparsely settled parts of the country, their re-employment in non-competitive fields, and their naturalization as Americans. Speakers included Dr. William Haber, executive director of the National Coordinating Committee, who presided and spoke on the background of the refugee problem; Miss Cecilia Razovsky, of the National Coordinating Committee; Isaac L. Asofsky, of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society; Mordecai Soltes, of the Jewish Welfare Board, and others.
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.
