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M. B. KAHN
\
Construction Company
GENERAL CONTRACTORS
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA
P. O. Box 595 Telephone AL. 2-8649
CAPITAL FUEL & SUPPLY CO.
COAL • FUEL OIL • HEATING SUPPLIES
2009 Green St. Phone AL. 4-3125
COLUMBIA, SOUTH CAROLINA
Wholesale Dry Goods & Notions
1742 Hlanding Street
Phone AL. 2-3607 "Columbia, S.C.
Bovle - Vaughan Agency
Insurance • Surety Bonds
1328 Sumter Street
P. O. Box 837
Telephone 252-2158
COLUMBIA, S. C.
THOS. B. BOYLE
President
THOMAS B. BOYLE JR.
Secretary
JAMES A. VAUGHAN
Vice-President
E. C. McGREGOR BOYLE
Treasurer
the "American problem" to Amer
ican Zionists who. under the lead
ership of Dr. Stephen S. Wise,
wanted to take a firm stand
against' the Crimean colonization
project.
When the United Jewish Cam
paign (UJC) was organized in
September, 1925, under JDC
leadership, to raise $15,000,000 in
three years the Zionists took an
open stand against what was be
lieve to be its anti-Palestine im
plications. Then, a compromise
was worked out. The JDC, in a
statement of campaign purposes,
announced limitation as to how it
might expend funds in the Crimea
and a final paragraph was added
that pledged American Jewry to
"always give adequately and gen
erously of their strength and sub
stance to support the work of Jew
ish resettlement in Palestine."
But David A. Brown, the aggres
sive UJC campaign chairman, goi
out of hand. He broke the peace
by writing letters to prospective
campaign workers that omitted
both the reference to limitations
on the Crimea colonization project
and the pledge to support Pales
tine as "an historic task." After
much prodding. Brown admitted
that this omission was not an
oversight, and when JDC leaders
felt constrained to uphold his pos
ition. the fat was in the fire. The
smoldering controversy erupted
again with full force.
These were the circumstances
that brought the United Palestine
Appeal (UPA) into being. The
Zionists were dedicated to the
belief that Palestine was the only
real solution of the Jewish prob
lem; whereas, certainly until after
a number of years of Hitler, most
of the JDC leadership were con
vinced that the problem of im
poverished Jews had to be settled
through reconstruction in their
bwn countries, not emigration to
Palestine.
Emanuel Neumann, who had
just stepped down after four years
as executive head of the Keren
Hayesod to resume the study of
law. was convinced that the Zion
ist cause, and Zionist fund raising
in particular, faced a crucial
crossroad unless something im
pressive and dramatic was pro
jected to meet the challenge of the
new Crimea-oriented campaign.
The only thing, he felt, that would
stir the imagination of the Amer
ican Jewish community, and focus
attention on the project for a Jew
ish national Homeland, was the
creation of a united Zionist cam
paign, the United Palestine Appeal.
No doubt he was also fully consci
ous of the harmful effects of the
competing Zionist campaigns, and
of the resentment these fragment
ed efforts tended to create in local
communities. He thereupon con
cluded that a United Palestine Ap
peal. with a goal as bold and as
large as the UJC, was urgently
necessary.
His plan was that the UPA seek
to raise five million dollars in
1925-26 to match the UJCs five
million dollar effort for that year.
He proposed the merger of the
Keren Hayesod, Keren Kayemeth,
Hadassah, the Hebrew University
Fund, and the Mizrachi campaigns
and sought to enlist the dynamic
leadership of Rabbi Wise, who was
just returning to the Zionist lold
after having been out of it since
the 1921 Brandeis split. With the
aid of Louis Lipsky, then president
of the Zionist Organization ot
America. Neumann won the ap
proval of the ZOA administration
to the program he outlined.
Having suggested the plan, he
was immediately charged with im
plementing it. The first step was
to get Rabbi Wise's assent to serve
as chairman of the UPA. This,
Wise agreed to do. with one pro
viso: that Neumann would share
the responsif?fffTy as chairman of
its executive committee. This for
tunate contribution provided the
new venture with a leadership
marked by boldness, effective or
ganization and a strong emotional
appeal.
Creating a single, unified Zionist
fund-raising apparatus then, as
now. was not without difficulties.
But agreement was reached for a
one year experimental trial, with
each organization retaining its in
dividuality and professional staff,
which was loaned to the UPA. Ha-
riassah and the JNF were given
guarantees that their organizations
would not suffer financial loss
through the unified effort.
The UPA campaign got under
way m Baltimore in November.
1925. in what has been called "The
Conference of Affirmation." One
of its valuable bv-products was the
return of many of the Brandeisites
into the Zionist fold, thus helping
NOW
4V2 °/0
perannum
dividend
rate
COLUMBIA
HOME FEDERAL
That a tk& phw fot ny money !
I CTWIilM
30
The Southern Israelite
