An urgent appeal to the United Nations Committee on refugees and Displaced Persons now meeting in London and to the Anglo-American inquiry committee, now deliberating in Switzerland, to assure to the displaced Jews in Germany and to Jews in Eastern European countries “emigration to the places of their choice, including Palestine,” was made tonight by Judge Simon H. Rifkind, at the first annual meeting of the New York Chapter of the American Jewish Committee, at the Hotel Biltmore.
Judge Rifkind, who recently returned from Europe where he acted as advisor on Jewish problems to the U.S. military command, declared that “among the displaced Jews in Germany and Austria there is substantial unanimity on this proposition: they want to quit Europe. That continent is to them a graveyard of memories. They have chosen the road of their own salvation. It leads straight to Palestine. No power on earth can divert them, because they are prepared to accept death rather than surrender.”
The meeting was attended by several hundred leading members of the New York Jewish community. Ralph E. Samuel, who presided, was re-elected chairman of the N.Y. chapter. Alan M. Stroock, vice-chairman of the executive committee of the American Jewish Committee, delivered a report on the recently held London conference of Jewish organizations, in which some 70 delegates of Jewish bodies in 13 countries participated.
Mr. Stroock, who was chairman of the program committee at the conference, declared that there was unanimous agreement on coordinated action by Jewish organizations in various countries designed to assure equality for all in the peace treaties soon to be concluded with former enemy countries and on implementation and enforcement of the human rights provisions in the United Nations charter.
On the subject of Palestine, Mr. Stroock said, there was general accord on the necessity of re-opening Palestine to large-scale Jewish immigration and on removing existing restrictions on the sale, purchase, and development of land.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
