Trygve Lie, first Secretary General of the United Nations, was the principal speaker here last night at a dinner launching Britain’s 1955 Joint Palestine Appeal. More than 1,200 persons attended the affair. Target of this year’s campaign has been set at 2,000,000 pounds, which is $5,600,000. The sum of 600,000 pounds was raised at the dinner.
Mr. Lie told the dinner that the UN and world Jewry were both “parents” to the Jewish State and were both responsible for it. He said that the State of Israel existed as an independent and sovereign state because: 1. The UN and world Jewry had supported it; 2. President Truman had given it immediate recognition, and 3. The “brave young Jewish army” fought and defeated Arab armies attacking from all quarters. He insisted that violations of the UN-negotiated armistice agreements are in fact violations of the UN Charter.
Other principal speakers at the dinner included Israel Ambassador Eliahu Elath, Sir Simon Marks and Lavy Bakstansky, director of the Joint Palestine Appeal. The latter reported that the JPA had raised 50,000 pounds more in 1954 than in 1953, while the total sum subscribed in this country by all pro-Israel agencies, in addition to the JPA, reached, 2,218,000 pounds. This, he added, was the greatest figure ever subscribed in this country to the Zionist cause.
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.
