Needs of Israel and of Jews in Europe Reviewed at Parley in Geneva

A growing backlog of unmet needs, occasioned by lack of funds, threatens to overwhelm overseas migration and welfare agencies set up by American Jewry and to affect the health, welfare and safety of tens of thousands of Jews in Israel, Europe and the Moslem countries, Max M. Fisher, General Chairman of the United Jewish Appeal, stated today following a meeting with the executive heads of the Joint Distribution Committee, the Jewish Agency, the World ORT Union and United Hias Service — all of which have their European headquarters in Geneva.

“The Agencies whose work we support are living on a hand-to-mouth basis, meeting only the most urgent of their clients’ needs and putting off or neglecting large areas of service because of the lack of immediate cash, ” Mr. Fisher said. “They need assurance from us of a steady flow of additional income if they are to cope with the continuing demands of men, women and children who have not the means to take care of themselves in the countries in which they live, and of those whose life and safety depend on them being moved from their countries of origin to more hospitable havens elsewhere.”

The meeting with Mr. Fisher was called by Charles H. Jordan, Director-General of JDC, major welfare agency serving needy Jews overseas. Other participants included Max A. Braude, Director-General of World ORT Union; Moshe Haskell and Nafthali Bar Giora, European representatives of the Jewish Agency, and Raphael Spanien and Irving Haber of the United HIAS Service.

The most pressing need of all the agencies according to Mr. Fisher, is additional cash. “Although our campaigns in the United States are well ahead of last year, the flow of cash is somewhat behind, ” he said. “It is necessary to call upon the communities who have done so well in their campaigns on our behalf to make as much cash as possible available to the United Jewish Appeal so that these agencies we serve can receive the money they need so urgently.”