Israel serves “as a constant reminder to subjugated peoples everywhere that freedom is possible with abundance, ” Walter Reuther, president of the United Automobile Workers Union, declared tonight at a testimonial dinner in his honor sponsored by the National Committee for Labor Israel at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel here.
Mr. Reuther, who was hailed by 1, 000 civic and union leaders as “a great statesman of free labor, ” was presented by Joseph Schlossberg, national chairman of the committee, with a bronze plaque symbolizing the 1958 Histadrut Humanitarian Award.
In accepting the honor, the union leader said Israel “was created inspite of tremendous opposition, in conflict with totalitarianism, in the face of open hostility and despite what seemed like an impossible situation. ” He added that Israel’s existence was “a living display case of the tremendous potential lying within people who are dedicated to working and sacrificing for their children. “
A message from Pinhas Lavon, Histadrut general secretary, praising Mr. Reuther’s labor union leadership, was read to the dinner guests. Dr. Dov Biegun, national secretary of the committee, opened the program with a tribute to previous winners of the award. Other speakers were Israel Ambassador Abba S. Eban and Mayor Robert F. Wagner of New York City.
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