Judge Joseph M. Proskauer, president of the American Jewish Committee, today issued a statement lauding President Truman’s proposal for increased immigration into the United States and appealing to American Jews to support the Jewish Agency for Palestine in its negotiations with the British Government.
Stating that “it is a source of pride to every American that the President has asked that America take the lead in urging upon the nations of the world the reception of the comparatively small number of refugees, which would go so far toward the salvation of hundreds of thousands of human lives,” Judge Proskauer added that President Truman’s statement had earned “not only the gratitude of all Jews, but of all who feel the responsibility for the salvation of these unfortunate survivors.”
Pointing out that the Jewish Agency was constituted, by its charter, to “voice the hopes of all friends of Palestine irrespective of whether they are Zionists or non-Zionists,” Judge Proskauer said that “I have reason to believe that at this particular juncture the Agency is evidencing an intent to respect that principle. So long as it so continues, it is our duty to aid it in the discharge of its grave responsibility.
“It is my profound conviction that nothing should be done to complicate or make more difficult the arduous task that will have to be undertaken” by the Agency in its negotiations with the British, he added. “Rancor, bitterness, vituperation and schism must be banished from our thinking and our conduct at this critical moment.”
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.
