Allied Jewish Campaign Divisions Hold Rallies Preceding Drive Opening May 6 30,000 Members of Federation Called to Action in '52 Effort Nearly 30,000 members of the being called to action for the Jewish Welfare Federation, official opening of the 1952 sponsoring organization of the drive, to occur at a dinner meet- Allied Jewish Campaign, are ing 6:30 p.m., Tuesday. May 6, Cross-Section, l'. S. . Agency's Reply to Schmorak Report By ALLEN LESSER An American Jewish Press Feature Defiant, angry, and occasion- ally spiced with sarcasm. the Reply of the Jewish Agency Ex- ecutive to disclosures of scan- dalous mishandling of public funds and gross administrative inefficiency of its treasury and other departments, made by its Controller Dr. Emil Schmorak, has just been made available here following its publication in Jerusalem two months ago. The reply accuses Dr. Schmorak of gross inaccuracies, deliberate bias. and failure to "indicate the general background" of the emergency created by the war for independence in 1948 and the mass immigration which followed. (An edited C CSion of the disclosures nia•li• last .1 ul.v by Dr. Sch moral: is Agenes 's Published along with the Controller's Report to the rep!' . considcr- 7iionst. Congress presented div•rsom of able alleging A geilt•N- funds to private uses. swollen esotemte accounts, favoritism in a wa rd- over- ontraets with resultant in and waste. failure to butl,,et ch., (...pendit tires and to maintain records properly when they were kept at all. ain't ll'a tion and similar forms of The Conti olt,•••, ailintnisti at ion Imp p , ),•! covert 11..c.,xeriod critical ...rit• its gene rally 31' de. tone. it voiees high praise for the adm tool of t he Agency's TECa•Of flee New York. and for the .lowish National Fund. Dr. Schmorak. a for- mer mernber of the .1e, ish Ag•ncy Executive. resigned as • Controller in NoVi•Mlw r I 951 The Agency's Reply in cases where there is agreement on the 'facts usually takes one of three forms: it may dispute the Con- troller's interpretation, provide an interpretation of its own. or simply brazen it out, as in the following example on diversion of foreign _currency for private use: In what Dr. Schmorak charges might be a criminal offense, the director of the finance department of the treasury spent for his private needs several thousand Swiss francs and several hundred thousand French francs of Agency funds (the amount given by Dr. Schmorak is dis- puted by the Agency) during 1949-50 on the understanding that the total would be de- ducted from his salary which was paid in Israeli pounds. A similar privilege was extended to Shlichim and other Agency representatives abroad. The Reply terms these allega- tions "misleading". and a - dis- tortion" of the facts. It omits reference to Israel's need for foreign currency but stresses that at the time of the trans- action, which it admits, "there was no marked difference be- tween the value of the Israeli lira abroad and its value in Israel." It adds moreover that it was "established custom" for the Agency to provide its repre- sentatives abroad with foreign currency against repayment in Israeli pounds because "our representatives, while abroad. must dress differently than they do in Israel, particularly in winter, when they need warm clothes which are unnecessary at home." Again, when the Controller's office investigated alleged mis- management of an Agency ware- house for lumber in Israel, it found considerable confusion in the records of incoming and outgoing materials which it blamed on the fact that the man in charge was a carpenter. not an accountant. To this the Agencji retorted: "We regard his former trade (of carpenter) as an advantage in connection with calculations of building mater- ial costs." Similarly, to the disclosure that its Paris office maintained four automobiles and three chauffeurs when it could have used taxis at a considerable saving. the Agency replies with- out elaboration: This was nec- essary"; then adds that "when conditions changed. the Treas- ury instructed its Paris office . .. to do without" the cars and chauffeurs. Neither Dr. Schmorak nor the Agency mentions names of the officials involved except when they are of the top level. One such instance is the reference to Director Giladi. of the sup- plies department, whose pur- chases of tractors and other ma- terials in New York at the close of 1948. made possible by an American loan to Israel. are the subject of a lengthy and in- volved explanation-in the Reply. Dr. Schmorak cites a number of irregularities in connection with the purchase of the 144 tractors at a cost of 5850.000. and losses in their transportation to Israel. He charges that they were shipped on deck, without crates; two tractors apparently were missing on unloading: and spare parts which had been purchased were not shipped. The reply admits the facts but makes no mention of the missing spare parts; points to emergency conditions and the necessity for improvisation to get equipment speedily as the reason for the hasty purchase and shipment. The missi ng tractors are said to be the re- sult of a clerical error. In connection with losses incurred in the purchase and shipment of $2 1 •;, million worth of American cattle, the Agency says frankly: "Our staff did not know how to deal effi- ciently with the receipt, stor- ing, examination and distri- butiori of ea me in large quan- tities thebeing brought to the country for the first time." The reply concludes with an attack on. Dr. Schmorak for quoting "irrelevant facts and figures, the veracity of which we deny." It goes on to say: "The Controller's attitude. dis- playing lack of faith in the per- sonnel of our offices, bred an unhealthy relationship between the investigating staff and Agency employees. Despite this, our employees continued to show an attitude of coopera- tion." Published in one volume. the Agency's reply and Dr. Schmo- rak's report (from which some sentences and possibly para- graphs have obviously been ex- purgated) cover more than 230 legal - size typewritten pages. Like our own Newbold Morris and other famed investigators, Dr. Schmorak may have been lacking in tact and diplomacy, but it is a fact, nevertheless, that many of the reform's he advocated and others which grew out of his suggestions have cince been adopted. Previously, in 1950, the Agency appointed Itzhak Gruenbaum, then a member of the Execu- tive, to investigate charges of fraud and embezzlement against certain unnamed Agency offi- cials. According to Mr. Gruen- baum's report to the Zionist Con- gress, 14 staff officers resigned or were dismissed on charges, 31 were acquAted, and 35 cases were "closed by letters repairing injury or explaining injustices of charge." in the Grand Ballroom of the April 30, in the English Room nual division dinner, 6:30 p.m., Sheraton Cadillac Hotel: of the Sheraton-Cadillac Hotel. Tuesday, April 22, in the Casino About 4,000 men, women and Leaders in the food division Room of the Sheraton-Cadillac young adults are participating will be hosts at the second an- Hotel. as workers in the trades and professions, women's and junior divisions in an effort to secure plus contributions in behalf of the 50-plus essential Jewish services supported by the Allied Jewish Campaign. Special groups within t h e campaign are holding advance gifts meetings building toward the all-out, across - the - board effort that will begin on May 6. Keeping a "promise" they made to Abe Kasle, campaign chairman, on the eve of his de- parture for Israel, pre-campaign chairmen Milton K. Mahler and Ben L. Silberstein are fulfilling their pledges for the best cam- paign ever—calling an intensive planning and assignment meet- ing of all PC workers, at 10:30 a.m., Sunday, in the Grand Ball- room of the Lee Plaza Hotel. The real estate and building division will memorialize Lou Shown in the last pictures taken before his untimely death Alper at a meeting of his co- is LOU ALPER, (center) veteran real estate and building division workers at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday. April 29. in the Casino Room of the Sheraton Cadillac Hotel. Mr. Alper was elected year- round chairman of his division by his fellow Detroit Service Group members. prior to his passing. The memorial meeting is being arranged under the chairmanship of Dsniel A. Laven and Benjamin Wilk. Workers in the mercantile di- vision, led by James Wineman. will open their phase of the campaign at another dinner meeting, 6:30 p.m., Wednesday. leader in the Detroit Service Group and Allied Jewish Campaign. A memorial tribute meeting to Mr. Alper is planned for 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, April 29, in the Casino Room of the Sheraton-Cadillac Hotel by real estate and building leaders, including campaign chairmen DANIEL A. LAVEN (left) and BENJAMIN WILK. Leacitte to Award Topotith Prizes Mrs. David Kliger, president of the League of Jewish Women, asks that all presidents of affili- ated groups attend a board of directors meeting scheduled for 12:30 p.m., Thursday. at the home of Mrs. Irving Small. 1570 W. Seven Mile. A luncheonette will be served. with executive board members serving as host- esses. Election of officers will be held. The outstanding young Jewish boy and girl will be selected for the Mildred Simons Rosenberg awards, with a kiddush cup to be awarded the boy, and s 1 menorah for the most likely wo- I man. Honorable mention awards will also be presented. Mrs. Emil Rothman, president of the Na- tional Council of Jewish Wo- men, is award chairman. Mrs. Martin Naimark will be A worker's kit—symbol of honor in the 1952 Allied Jewish Campaign—is examined by two food division leaders, IRWIN - I. COHN (left) and NATHAN W. LURIE. Both are sponsors, with other division members, of the second annual division dinner, to be held at 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, at the Sheraton-Cadillac Hotel. Formal Dedication of Bnai Moshe Religious School Building Is Set For Week-End of April 25 to 27 Formal dedication of the Con- synagogue shares the building, gregation Bnai Moshe religious will participate in the ceremo- school building adjoining the nies. Commencing with Friday o n synagogue evening services at which Rab- Dexter and bi Lehrman's son-in-law, Rab- Lawrence will bi Max Lipshitz of Madison, take place Wis., will be guest speaker, Visa Woes Disrupt during the the dedication observance will Zellman Family Seder week - end of continue with Sabbath morn- April 25 - 27, ing services, open house on The Zellman family carried Rabbi Moses Sunday, April 27 and a dinner on its plans for a family seder Lehrman an- that Sunday night at which during the Passover holidays, nounced this Rabbi Solomon Goldman of chairman and Mrs. Irving Small, program chairman of the 25th anniversary luncheon of the League, to be held next month. despite the fact that the prin- cipal was missing. The seder was to have hon- ored Mrs. Ethel Zellman, who has lived in Jerusalem for 20 years and who was to have ar- rived here to visit her children and grandchildren during the holiday. Unforeseen visa difficulties, however. delayed Mrs. Zellman's trip, and 30 members of her im- mediate family and three guests carried on the tradition in her absence at the Zionist House. Mrs. Zellman will arrive here in May. Truman Urges Speedy Action On Immigration Program WASHINGTON, (JTA)—Pres- ident Truman asked chairman Francis E. Walter of the Immi- gration sub - committee for speedy action on the President's program to bring in 300,000 im- migrants in the next three years. 20 — THE JEWISH NEWS Friday, April 18, 1952 week . Chicago will be guest speaker. Bnai Moshe, Local rabbis and lay leaders its affiliated or-Rabbi Lehrman will participate in the ceremo- ganizations and the United He- nies. Details of all programs will brew Schools, with whom the be listed next week. North End Clinic Annual Bailin Lecture, Dinner, Set for May 7 North .E n d Clinic's annual Bailin Lecturet will be held this year following a dinner at 6:30 p.m., Wednesday, May 7, at Hotel Statler. Featuring an outstanding fig- ure in the medical world, the lectures are sponsored by the board of trustees and the medi- cal staff of the Clinic, which is a member agency of the Jew- ish Welfare Federation and United Community Services. Dr. Abraham Becker is chair- man of the program committee for this year's lecture to which all members of the Wayne County Medical Society are in- vited. Reservations may be made by calling TR. 5-5363. North End Clinic, Detroit's only out-patient clinic not con- nected with a hospital, recently celebrated its 25th anniversary of service to the community. The Clinic supplies medical, dental and diagnostic care to patients unable to afford prMate care. Receiving its deficit financing from the Torch Fund of the United Foundation, the Clinic is included in the 1952 Allied Jewish Campaign of Federation for its hospitalization fund.- David Wilkus is North End Clinic president.