Inspired by the progress of the Jewish refugee settlement in the Dominican Republic, the governments of Peru and of Venezuela have now approached Jewish leaders in New York with a view to discussing the possibility of opening the doors of these two countries to refugees along the same lines as that in the Dominican Republic.
This was disclosed last night by James N. Rosenberg, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Dominican Republic Settlement Association, at a dinner given under his chairmanship at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel to a group of Jewish leaders from all over the country. The speakers at the dinner included Leon Falk, Jr., president of the DORSA, Mr. Paul Baerwald, James G. McDonald, Dr. Joseph Rosen, Solomon Trone, George L. Warren and others.
In addressing the guests, Mr. Rosenberg disclosed that the Board of Directors of the Dominican Republic Settlement Association has decided to raise an additional $600,000 in 1942 for the constructive settlement work which is now being successfully conducted in Sosua in the Dominican Republic. He explained the plans for raising money and announced that he himself planned to embark on a campaign tour throughout the country in order to interest local Jewish communities in the DORSA activities. Mr. Leon Falk, Jr., in his address gave a detailed review of the progress which the Sosua colony has made and emphasized the extent to which the general population in the Dominican Republic has benefited from the Jewish settlers.
MYRON C. TAYLOR, GOV. LEHMAN STRESS IMPORTANCE OF DOMINICAN EXPERIMENT
The importance of the Jewish settlement work in the Dominican Republic was emphasized also in messages received from Myron C. Taylor, President Roosevelt’s Ambassador to the Vatican and “father of the Evian Conference,” and from Governor Lehman. Pointing out that the colonization experiment in the Dominican Republic may have far-reaching effects, Ambassador Taylor, in his message addressed to Mr. Rosenberg, said: “It has been a matter of great interest to learn of the progress of the Dominican Republic Settlement for Refugees. You and your associates who have been so active in the development work which followed the initial offer by the Dominican Government, the first offer of its kind that was made following the Evian Conference, deserve the greatest praise. Your continued interest and support of this development will be heartening to the entire refugee movement in its present state and in the situation which is sure to occur during and particularly after the conclusion of the war. This initial Dominican example, embodying a definite settlement with prospects of substantial enlargement and ultimate success, will play an important part in those activities. These are days when we cannot afford to slacken our interest or our efforts in behalf of those in need.”
Governor Lehman, in his message, termed the settlement of refugees in the Sosua colony as “a most significant undertaking which should be widely supported.” The guests at the dinner were shown a film made in Sosua by the Paramount Film Corporation depicting the daily life of the Jewish settlers there and the progress which they have made from the very first day they landed on the shores of the Dominican Republic.
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.
