Two thousand women, representative of every element in the community, sat down to a nine cent luncheon Wednesday under the auspices of the Philadelphia branch Hadassah, each woman giving additional ninety cents for the luncheon fund of the Jewish children in Palestine.
This thrift luncheon, one of a series sponsored by national Hadassah, is the first of its kind given in this city. So successful was this first affair that in all likelihood it will be put on the community calendar as an annual event.
Mrs. Samuel H. Halprin, national president of Hadassah, who recently spent a year in Palestine, and Dr. Israel Goldstein, formerly of this city were the guests of honor. Mrs. Halprin recounted some of her experiences in the Holy Land and dwelt particularly on the part Hadassah is playing in the rebuilding of the country. Hadassah hopes, she said, in the near future to be able to engage in a general child welfare program, which is necessary, if ignorance and superstition are to be overcome. She appealed for increased membership in Hadassah so that the constructive program of the organization might be carried on.
Dr. Israel Goldstein also stressed the remarkable progress Palestine has made in recent years. Referring to the Balfour Declaration he said that one of the mistakes that had been made by the Jews the world over was to place too much reliance on a scrap of paper, no matter how well the intentions of the governing power might be. The Balfour Declaration, he said, must be supplemented by Jewish labor, Jewish enterprise and Jewish money if the goal is to be achieved.
Greetings were extended to the diners and to the guests by Mrs. William M. Lewis, president of Philadelphia Hadassah and Mrs. Samuel Schimmel, chairman of the thrift luncheon committee.
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.
