A budget of $30, 685, 750 for its activities in 1962 was adopted here last night by the Joint Distribution Committee at its 47th annual meeting attended by more than 400 members of the JDC National Council representing Jewish communities from all parts of the country. Edward M. M. Warburg was re-elected national chairman for the 17th consecutive year.
The budget was adopted following warnings that the “unforeseen crises” of 1961 affecting Jewish communities overseas “may well have been a harbinger of similar crises in the year ahead. Jordan, director-general for overseas operations of the JDC, told the meeting that the $30, 685, 750 budget was a “dangerous minimum” needed to care for an estimated 325, 000 needy men, women and children in 27 overseas countries.
“This sum may not be enough,” Mr. Jordan declared. “In a world where catastrophes are common, violence ‘routine’ and emergencies ‘normal,’ the 1962 budget will prove realistic only if, in the coming 12 months there are no major crises affecting Jews overseas.” He reported that thousands of Jews fled Tunisia in the three months following the Bizerte incident this year. “Nor was this the only country to produce a stream of refugees in 1961,” he said. “From Algeria–torn by civil war–nearly as many Jews emigrated to Israel in the first seven months of 1961 as in all the years from 1956 to 1961.”
WARBURG SAYS TIDE OF ANTI-JEWISH VIOLENCE RISES IN SOME LANDS
Mr. Warburg, who presided, told the assembled Jewish leaders that JDC was faced with “far greater and more difficult” problems than those of the last several years. “Once again, there are countries in which the tide of anti-Jewish violence is rising,” he said. “Once again, tens of thousands of men, women and children are living on the edge of anxiety. Once again, thouands are searching for a refuge–with the possibility that far greater numbers will follow.
“It is such events as these which have created the problems with which we must deal today,” he pointed out. “They have imposed heavy burdens upon the Jewish communities which have provided haven for the refugees. They have created a tremendous drain on the financial resources of JDC.” These increased needs have heightened the responsibility of American Jews for “providing funds for survival, to save lives, to prevent disaster,” he said. “This is not a matter of choice for us–it is an obligation,” he added.
In presenting the 1962 budget, Mr. Jordan reported that Jewish communities in European countries are facing “almost impossible” problems in attempting to cope with the flood of refugees. “They have created immense problems, both immediate and long-term, for the Jewish organizations to which they turn for assistance,” he said. “The majority of the people come without any means. They have to be given money to board a bus or a trolley-car to take them away from the dock, and cash for a sandwich on the train to the next city.”
Housing is a particularly crucial problem, Mr. Jordan said. “They are crowding into shabby little hotels, six, eight and 10 to a room.” The $30, 685, 750 is the minimum, he declared, “required to meet the basic needs of 110, 000 men, women and children in Moslem countries, of 50, 000 in 15 countries of Europe, of more than 70, 000 in Israel, and tens of thousands in other areas.
The largest single item on the budget–$9, 000, 000–is earmarked for the JDC-Malben program in Israel for the care of aged, ill and handicapped newcomers, Mr. Jordan said. The next largest item is for aid to over 100, 000 Jews in Moslem countries, $6,200,000. Almost $5, 000, 000 will be spent on aid in European countries. In Israel, JDC will provide services for some 70, 000 in 1962. Of these, more than 44, 000 will be cared for in the Malben program alone.
J. D. C. INCURRED $1, 000, 000 DEFICIT THIS YEAR; FIRST IN 10 YEARS
Moses A. Leavitt, executive vice-chairman of the JDC, reported that as a result of the emergencies that brought thousands of Jewish refugees to France and other European countries, JDC incurred a deficit of nearly $1, 000, 000 in 1961, the first in 10 year.
Summing up JDC’s 1961 activities, Mr. Leavitt said preliminary figures indicate that “JDC will have aided more than 240,000 men, women and children in 27 countries around the world by the end of the year. This includes more than 110, 000 in Moslem areas, more than 50, 000 in 13 European countries and some 72, 000 in Israel.
“These programs,” Mr. Leavitt reported, “included cash relief for 40, 610, a feeding program for 92, 970, medical aid to more than 35, 000, assistance to schools with almost 72, 000 students and to cultural and religious programs serving more than 39, 000. From January 1 to June 30, JDC-sponsored loan funds issued nearly 4, 000 loans amounting to more than $1, 750, 000. More than 22, 000 students attended JDC-aided Ort vocational training schools during the same period.”
In adopting the budget, the delegates also passed a resolution voicing support for the 1962 campaign of the United Jewish Appeal, and approving the adoption of a special campaign to meet emergency needs arising from the renewed migration of large numbers of Jews.
Sol Satinsky of Philadelphia, who was re-elected chairman of the National Council, urged the assembled communal leaders to alert their communities to the new and urgent problems and needs of Jews overseas. He stressed the importance of getting the JDC story told and described some of the steps being taken by the agncy to inform communities of overseas developments.
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.
