Formation of an American-based aliyah organization, with 200 founding members, the Association of Americans and Canadians for Aliyah, was announced here today. Dr. Norman Schanin, chairman, said membership was open to all American Jews planning to settle in Israel within three years.
Dr. Schanin, educational director of the Forest Hills (N.Y.) Jewish Center, said that the organization would hold its first annual conference here on May 19 in cooperation with the American Zionist Council and the American section of the Jewish Agency. The new group is affiliated with the Zionist Council and the Association of Americans and Canadians in Israel.
As an American membership organization. Dr. Schanin said, “we can be effective in providing our members with Information and assistance related to their transfer and settlement in Israel.” He said the association would seek to act as “a pressure group” on Israeli officials to help would-be settlers find proper jobs and housing. All association members plan to settle in Israel.
He added that the AACA, in cooperation with the Israel Aliyah Center here, would regularly inform members of jobs open in Israel and provide related information from Israeli Government ministries, industry, and educational institutions. He said the organization would also sponsor visits by members to Israel to find Job and housing opportunities. He added that interviews have already been arranged for members with Israel Social Welfare Ministry officials.
Dr. Schanin plans to go to Israel in July to become principal of the Bet Hakerem Teachers College in Jerusalem. He said Barry Chazan, assistant principal of the West Hills Jewish Center, and Joseph Bruckenstein, educational director of Congregation Adas Israel in Washington, D.C., visited Israel last November seeking positions for themselves and 19 other potential American settlers, and that the idea of AACA stemmed from their visit.
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.
