Over 300 Delegates Convene at Fifth Canadian Jewish Congress in Montreal

More than 300 delegates from Canadian Jewish communities from the Atlantic to the Pacific gathered here today at the opening meeting of the Fifth Plenary Session of the Canadian Jewish Congress. Among the chief topics to be discussed by the assembled delegates at the conference, which concludes tomorrow night, are intensification of the Jewish war effort in Canada and the expansion of refugee and war relief aid. The session will also vote on adherence to the Inter-American Jewish Conference, which was set up in Baltimore at the end of November.

Reporting on the activities of the Congress for the last two years, at the morning session, General Secretary H. M. Caiserman pointed out that the main achievements were: establishment of the Canadian Jewish Committee for Refugees which cared for transient refugees and helped settlement of a number of farmer-refugees; creation of a war effort committee which coordinated all Jewish patriotic endeavors and encouraged enlistment of a number of Jews in the Canadian armed forces; formation of the United Jewish Refugee and War Relief Agencies which merged the work of the Canadian Jewish Committee for Refugees, the ORT, the Federation of Polish Jews, the Peoples Relief Committee and the Joint Distribution Committee. He also reported that the government ban on subversive and anti-Semitic movements and the internment of their leaders had helped to check anti-Semitism in the country.

Saul Hayes, Executive Director of the Refugee and War Relief Agencies, reported that $329,939 was transmitted for relief purposes of which $161,603 was sent to Palestine. Permits were obtained for the entry of 200 Polish-Jewish refugees of which 150 have already arrived, Mr. Hayes stated. An additional 25 Czech-Jewish refugees arrived within the last few days. The successful termination of the negotiations with the Government concerning the establishment of ORT schools in Canadian refugee camps was also announced by Hayes. The world ORT Union has budgeted $25,000 for this purpose, he revealed.