Contributions to the United Jewish Appeal totaling close to $1,000,000 were announced tonight at a United Hias Service dinner following a stirring address by Mrs. Golda Meir, Israel’s Foreign Minister. The dinner was a testimonial to Ben Touster and Carlos L. Israels, former presidents of United Hias, the worldwide Jewish migration agency.
Mrs. Meir, reporting on Israel’s achievements and on the problems faced by the country, called upon American Jewry to give wholehearted support to the United Jewish Appeal. She was introduced to the gathering as “one of the truly great ladies of our century” by Murray Gurfein, United Hias president, who stressed that family reunions are one of the main areas of activity of his organization in behalf of Jewish victims of the war and post-war periods.
Plaques were presented to Mr. Touster and Mr. Israels by William Rosenwald, a national chairman of the UJA and United Hias vice-president. The citation to Mr. Touster emphasized that he “holds the distinction of being the first president of United Hias and of guiding the organization on its far reaching mission of rescue through migration.” Also that he was “a prime moving spirit in the creation of the Hias House in Beersheba, Israel, designed to accommodate scientists and technicians engaged in the heroic task of reclaiming the Negev.” Mr. Israels citation stressed his personal efforts for resettlement in Latin America of thousands of Jewish emigrants from Eastern Europe and the Middle East.
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.
