489 Israel-bound Jewish Refugees Sail from New York; Were Evacuated from Shanghai

A group of 489 Jewish refugees from Shanghai sailed from here today for Israel on the last leg of their long globe-circling journey to a permanent haven. In their wanderings, the refugees, moat of whom fled Hitler Germany and Austria in 1937 and 1938, crossed the Pacific Ocean aboard a Victory ship and then boarded sealed and guarded trains for a six-day trip across the American continent from San Francisco to Ellis Island.

At a farewell ceremony tendered by the United Jewish Appeal last night, Henry Morgenthau, Jr., general chairman of the U.J.A., pledged American support to guarantee that the refugees would be resettled in Israel and “would never again become wanderers.” Speaking of their Journey across the U.S., Morgenthau declared: “I hang my head in shame that this great country of mine does not welcome you with open arms, instead of sending you across the country in a closed train.” In Israel, he said, the people welcome every Jew who wishes to come there and give them an opportunity “to take their place on an equal basic with all other citizens.”

Arthur Lourie, Israeli consul-general in New York, told the refugees that his country held out to homeless Jews the world over the promise of “work, rest, shelter and security for every Jew who wishes to go there.” Other speakers included William Rosenwald, chairman of the U.J.A.; Edwin Rosenberg, president of United Service for New Americans; Berl Locker, chairman of the Jewish Agency executive in Jerusalem; and Judge Morris Rothenberg, acting national chairman of the United Palestine Appeal. One of the highlights of the ceremony was the rendition of several operatic numbers by members of the Metropolitan Opera Company.

In conjunction with the International Refugee Organization, the Joint Distribution Committee has helped evacuate some 4,000 refugee Jews from Shanghai in the past two months, Moses A. Leavitt, executive vice-chairman of the J.D.C., announced today. The movement, which began on Dec. 27, last, continues. Included among these refugees were the 489 who left New York for Israel today.