Maxwell Abbell, Chicago Jewish communal leader, active member of the Conservative religious movement and until recently chairman of President Eisenhower’s watchdog committee on discrimination in government employment, died today. He was 55.
Mr. Abbell, a native of Poland, came to this country when he was three. An attorney and accountant, Mr. Abbell had careers in both business and social work, serving as assistant executive director of the Jewish Charities of Chicago. An active Zionist, Mr. Abbell was also a director of the Jewish Theological Seminary and between 1950 and 1953 was president of the United Synagogue of America, central body of Conservative Judaism.
A prominent supporter of President Eisenhower in both the 1952 and 1956 election campaigns, he was appointed chairman of the President’s Committee on Government Contracts in 1955, a position he relinquished only recently.
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