WORLD UNION

FINANCIAL AND ACCOUNTING OFFICE THE BI-WEEKLYSUMMARY

200 West 72nd Street, New York 23, New York RESTRICTEDCIRCULATION ENDICOTT 2-0556CABLE ADDRESS:ORTUNION, NEW YORK

vol. III, No. 5 IssuedFebruary28, 19L49

TEE VA1U: OF ORT MOGRAITDIFFICULTTO EXAGGFRAT7 Says JamesG. rcDonald,UnitedStatesAmbassadortp

In a recentletterfrom Tel Aviv ta Pr. DavidLvovitch,UnitedStatesAmbassador to Israel,JamesG. inonald, statedhis s.7tisfactionthat "0:;.Tis continuingun- interruptedlyits vital7ork of vocationaltraining". "Thevalueof sucha prograre, he declared,Trouldbe difficultto exaggerate".

At the sametime,AmbassadorTcDonaldexpressedthe hope thatPr. Lvovitchwould soonvisit Israeland assuredhim "ofa cordialwelcomefromthe Governmentand people".

ORT 977S 7XANPIFIN STORT-TFRYTRAINING FRENCH GOVERINT BROLIDCST STTrS

On Friday,Februaryl8, the FrenchGovernmentradio,in a Germanlanguagebroadcast beamedto Germanyand Austria,treatedthe problemof acceleratedvocationaltrain- ing in . The broadcastannouncedthat Franceneeds6,OCO additionalskilled workersfor the reconstructionof its economy. Not onlyhas thewar reducedcities and factoriesto ruins,the broadcastsaid,but the populationhas also been severe- ly affectedbnthphysicallyand Tentally. It is thereforenecessaryto plan system- atic immigration,as well as rehabilitationfor the physicallyhandicapped,to lead themback intothe productivelife of the country. For this purpose,Francehas - adoptedthe methodof trainingthe workersin short-termor acceleratedcourses. "Therinistryof Labor,when confrontedwith the problemof carryingnut sucha Pro- gram,"the broadcastsaid,"wasgreatlyhelpedby the organizationORT. The initials ORT standfor Organization,Reconstructionand Travail(Frenchfor Labor). This or- ganization....aimsto promoteartisanship,skilledlaborand agricultureamongthe and,becauseof its longexperience,is qualifiedto•approachthe problemwith a hiEh degreeof success. ORT, of course,is only one--althouEhthe largestone-- amongthe 300 trainingcentersin France."

The broadcastthen statedthat experiencehas provedthat it is possibleto train in six months'coursestotallyunskilledpeopleto becomehelpers,or to develcp skilledhelpersto the statusof firstgradeworkers. It thendiscussedthe aues- tion of how studentsare to be supportedduringtheirtrainingperiod. "Tetus againtake ORT as an example", the broadcastcontinued,"thisorganiza-Eionderives its fundsmostlyfrom charitableorganizations—especiallyAmerican-Jewishgrcups-- who have,sincethe end of the war, donatedthe most moderntools,toolmachinesand BI ...TT:72M SIERIARY, VOL.III, No.5 -2- rawmaterialsto theORTSchoolin Montreuil& whichis conductedby thesameorganizationinMarseillesorwellad to theMarineSchool, to itsvarious agriculturalschools.On theotherhand,thisorganizationiswellentitledto claimStatesubventions,as the countryis anxiousto secureforitsreconstruction theworkerstrainedin theseschools.AlsoStatesubventionis,withoutdoubt, necessary,as a surveyperformedby theauthoritiesas earlyas Hay1947shored an estimatedcostof 100,000Frs.forretrainingeachstudent." Speakingof theproblemof findingemploymentforqualifiedworkers,the broadcastagainreferredto ORT,statingthatthisorganizationnotonlyplaces itsgraduatesin jobsIbutalsograntsthemloans,in orderto makethemself- supporting.

NE7SPROMABROAD FROM FRANCE ORTRepresentedin UnitedNationsInformationCenterinParis- The UnitedNationsInformationDepartmentin Parishasinvitedthenationalbranches of theNon-GovernmentalAgenciesto establisha Secretariatat theUnitedNations InformationCenter.Thepurposeof theSecretariatwillbe:- To actas liaisonbetweentheron-GovernmentalAgencies. To promotetherelationsbetweentheseagenciesandthe UnitedNationsInformationDepartment. To ensuredistributionof informationanddocuments TheSecretariatwas createdat a meetingof theNon-GovernmentalAgenciesin the UNESCObuildingonFebruary7thandwillbe underthedirectionof theLiaison Committeeof theRepresentativesof theFrenchYon+GovernmentalAgencies.Through theSecretariat,notonlythe41 membersof theCommittee,butalsothevarious departmentsof theUnitedNationswillregularlyreceivecompletereportson ORTactivities. The FrenchORTis representedat thisSecretariatby Hr,EricSchieberof the InformationDepartmentof7orldORTUnionandtheFrenchORT.

FROMAUSTRIA Due to thecontinuousemigrationof DP'sfromAustriato Israelandothercountries, pupilenrollmentinAustriahasdecreasedfrom1,017in October1948to November,835in Decemberand799in January1949,accordingto 7orldORTUnion949in AustriaMission'sactivitiesreportforDecember1948andJanuary consolidationof ORTtrainingcentersin theprovincesofAustriawhicharemostly1949.The affectedby theDP emigrationproceedsin proportionto thedecreasein thenumber of students.Severalschoolsin theFrenchandAmericanZonesof Austriahavebeen closedandtheremainingstudentshavebeentransferredto otherschools,suchas HalleinandEbelsberg,wherenewcoursesin weavinganddressmakinghavebeen opened.As theclosingof moreschoolsis foreseen,plansarebeingmadeto maintainoneschoolin eachof theareasof Salzburgand fortrainingexists. Linzaslongasa need Bi-7eeklySummary,Vol. III,No.5

- 3 - NE'TSFROM ABROAD(contld)

The ORT trainingcenterin Vienna,beingmostlyattendedby indigenousJews who have returnedto Austriaand wish to settlethere,has been less affected by DP emigration.Its pupilenrollmenthas been almoststable)with a little more than 250 in Decemberand January. The schoolin Viennawill, therefore, be continuedfor an indefiniteperiodof time and will be directedmainlyby indigenousJews. Theirorganizationis the AustrianCr:TAssociation,The Associationhas recentlyconducteda membershipdriveand now has 11i9members. Its77omen'sAuxiliary,whichwas formedon December16, 19h8,has 60 members.

In the U.S.Zoneof Austria,a considerablenumberof OFT students,who are awaitingtheirturn for emigration,are workingeitherfor welfareorganiza— tionsor for privateindustry. Thus,lh traineesof the coursein manufactur— ing shoeuppersare workingunder the supervisionof an ORT instructorin a factoryat Steyr;35 studentsof the dressmakingcourseof the same schocland all the studentsof the advanceddressmakingcoursesin the Linz and Salzburg schoolsare workingfor the PX installationsof IRO and JDC. The 20 students of the weavingcc,urseat Halleinare giventhe opportunityto continuetheir studiesas apprenticesin a Salzburgtextilemill and the automechanicstu-!-- dentsof Salzburgare workingat the IRO garagein that city.

Simultaneouslywith the liquidationof the schools,preparationsare being made for the transferof theirequipmentto Israel. Two truckloadsof heavy equipmenthave alreadybeen sentto Munichfrom the Salzburgwarehousewhere theyhad been assembled. • A carpentryinstructorof the oaT Schoolin Ebelsberghas been calledto Israel to work as instructorin one of the new OFT schoolsin the JewishState.

1MS. KURT LA71117,DPSCRII-TSoaT13 PRooRAT-FOR ISRAEL Dr. Aron Syngalo—ski,Chairman,TxecutiveCommittee,7jOrldOFT Union,at the firstmeeting,of the OFT Councilin Israel,in January,presenteda detailed programof ORT'splans. At first,he mentioned26 schoolsand workshopsin Tel—Aviv,Holon,Tiberias,Petach—Tikvah,lamat—Can,,Vfule,Ben Shemen,Ramat Yohananand KfarHadati,a villageof orthodox Jews forwhich buildings,eqip— rent,and instructorsareavailable.Courseswill be openedconsecutively.Then he discusseda numberof institutions,includingtwo schoolsfor buildingccn— structionin Tel Aviv,,KfarHassidim,Delia,Fyn Herod,Magdieland Nathanielconcerningwhich negotiationshave been concluded.The Pquipment for theseschoolsis available;the buildings,however,have not yet been com— Pleted. Finallyhe presentedplanswhich stillare undernegotiation.

Thefollcwing'isAn excerptof a reportgivenby Mrs. AlyseLaemmle,Western ExpansionChairman,Tomen'sAmericanOFT,upon her returnfroma recenttrip throughIsrael:

"Accordingto a survey,approximately60 per cent of the manpowerin Israeli's industryis CRT trained,"Mrs. Laemmlestated. "Mile all thesepeoplewere ' trainedin ORT schoolsthroughoutthe world,"she continued,"OFTis naw preparing - largetrainingprogramin Israelproper." Mrs. Laemmlethendescribedthe fol— • lowingprojectswhichshe had visitedon her tour throughIsrael: Bi--eeklySummary,Vol. III,No.5

In Tel Avivjshe had seenthreeORT establishments.The "ORTSchoOlof Tel Aviv", establishedin a housewhich7as turnedoverto 0,-aby the Tel Aviv municipality, in which,she explained)the trainingof over3,000ORT studentswho emigrated from the DP campswithouthavin:been eraduatedwill be completed.Tel Aviv young- sterswill alsm be welcomein this school. Up to now onlytvo tradeschoolswith a cepacityof 70 pupilshave been in existencein Tel Aviv;thus the ORT TradeSchool will supplymeeiorassistanceto the 3,600childrenof treneschoolaee in Tel Aviv. (Seealso Id--eel..-1ySummary,Vol. III,#4). The second0:1TSchoolin Tel servethr crucialnee-1for the trainingof neglectedor abandonedchildren,andwill rill be locntedin the "7:agnerSchool". "Tel A.vivstreets",Frs. Laenmlestated, IIere filled -ithsuchchildren,mostlyof NorthLfricanorigin,who reqnirespecial adjustmentand education.The childrenwill be raintainedin this schoolby the city gonrrnment:'orthreeyearsdurin.-fhichtimetheywill be trainedby ORT in suchskillsas carpentry,tailorine„book,:inding,cardboardworking,shoemaking, manufacturingof shneuppers,and machineknitting".A thirdCRT trainingcenter finallyrill be openedin the Histradutbuilding,which has been turnedoverto ORT to be used as a sewingschoolfor flirlsand adultsl.

In Petach-Tikva,Yrs. Laemmlevisitedan ORT school,which is functioningin co- operntionwith the Misrachi. She describedthewell-ventilatedworkshopsand studyroomsdesignedby "VTtechnicalexperts. -hilethe buildingis provided by the MisrachilORT has contributedthe equipment,consistingof the most modern machinery,toolsand supplies,as well as the teachers,the work program,books, etc.

In Ramat-Yohanan,a well-establishedand flcurishingcooperative,an IRT schoolis beingsetup for trainingin farmmechanicsand carpentry.This schoolwill serve theyouthof the Kibbutz,as well as of the neighborhood. A large,12 roomhousehas been donatedto OF- as a trainingcenterfor farm and alit"mechanicsin Fin-Sara,near Naharia. The donorof the houseis Dr. Lieberman, who becameacquaintedwith ORT in Polandthirtyyearsago and, throughthiscon- tribution,wants to help ORT in the rebuildingof Jewishlivesin Israel. This story,Mrs. Laemmlecommented,"hasbeen an everyday one in Israel. One man, the head of a greatfactory,has offeredhis servicesas an ORT instructor,thusre- payingoaT in part for the traininghe had receivedthrough.ORT many yearsago".

In Jerusalem,youngSephardicgirlsreceivetrainingin sewingand machineknitting.

In RamatGan,Affuleand Tiberias,the municipalitieshave reouestedORT training. In Ramt Can, boys are trainedin weaving,spinningand dyeing schoolsare beingpreparedfor the teachingof farmmechanicsand textiles.In Affule, In Tiberias,a two-yearcoureein manufecturingof souvenirarticlesfrom leether, wood,metaland stonewili oe opened,.as this industryis expectedto prosperonce the touristtradestartsin Israel.

In theworld renownedchildren'svillageBen-Shemen,the ORT representativeswere likewiseheartilywelcomed. There,courseswill be openedforboys in machine shop,carpentryand electrotechnicsand for girls,in hand-weaving,sewingand cooking.

Finally,at the specialrequestof the IsraeliMinistryof '-ar.specialORT train- ing courseswill be openedfor physicallyhandicappedex-servicemen. , Bi-eekly Summary,Vol. III,No. 5 - 5 - A three-storybuildingin Jaffahas been put at the disposalof tablishmentof five schoolsfor demobilizedsoldiers.SimilarcourseswilloaTfor the es- be establishedin Jerusalem.-In addition,ORTwill reserveopeningsfor soldiers in otherschrols.

"ranyof the permanentlydisabledare 18-20years age",Mrs. Laemmlesaid in conclusion,"Itwas hardto take the joy of theseunhappyyoungpeoplewhen they learntthat ORT schoolswould be set up specificallyto trainthem in skillswhich they couldsatisfactorilymasterin spiteof theirhamperingphysicallimitations".

THE ISRAELI ORT COMMITTEE F),FOUTIVE1.9137RS- Chairman:Dr, Y. Beham,Barrister,Tel Aviv;Messrs.S. Jaffe, Directorof the Tel Aviv DevelopmentCompany;S. Sack,Histadrut;I. Finkelstein, Histadrut;4. Klir,Directorof tha Factory"Argaman";J. Shapira,DirectorGeneral of the PalestineElectricCorp.

COUNCILYEMBERS- President:Mr. J. Shapira;Vice President:Yr. I. Finkelstein. The membersof the Executiveand Messrs.D. Auster,Mayorof Jerusalem,E. Elishar, representativeof SephardicJewry;O. Eisenberg,Chairmanef the Farmers'Associa- tion;O. Ben-Ami,Mayorof Nathania;H. Dan,Directorof SolelBench;Dr. Weinert, SwissConsul,Tel Aviv;D. Cahan,Founderof the newspaper"Haaretz";Lan, Hista- drut;Y. :rem,•Histarlrut;:Dr. H. Kugel,Chairmanof the MunicipalCouncilof Holm; EngineerS. Kaplansky,Principalof the HaifaTechnicalHighSchool;RabbiKovalski, Tel Aviv;A. Shenkar,Presidentof the rnnufacturers1Association;I. Rokach,Mayor ef Tel Aviv;and one memberof the AgudatIsrael.

MACHI= AND TOOISFOTIISR,1EL

Duringthe periodDecember3, 1948 to February from the ORTwarehousein Sci)leissheim,U.S. Zone,to3, 19149, Israel,including25363 machineswere shipped lathes, 10 millingmachines,5 shapers,11 drillpresses,4 grinders,15 toolgrinders,5 mechanicalsa-s,14 electricalwelders,3 planingmachines(uood)).18carpenters' benches,204vises,42 sewingmachines,etc. In addition,severalcasescontaining materialfor radioand electro-technicalcourseshavebeen shippedfromSchleissheim tn Israel.

NT:S FROI:ATIRICA

United Nations Day at ORT Exhibit - United Nations dignitariesand diplomaticrep- resentativesfrom twelve nations attended a reception '‘.i.venin their honor American ORT Federationat the InternationalORT Lxhibit, 318 :est57 Street, by the New York City, on Thursday,February 24. hr. Pierce _illiams,United Nations Ldviser on DP problems, representedthe United Nations, and delegates of the British cmd Chinese ConsulatesGeneral, as well as of the ConsulatesOf the Netherlands,B'elgium,Czechoslovakia,Hungary, and were amon the diplom-tic officialsat th affair. In his address, called his visits to OT schools in the DP camps in Germany and Italy, where he1.1".Jilliamre- had participatedin graduationceremonis and observed OAT stutents in "It givs one a deep satisf:xtion,"he said, "to see the happiness of the studentstraining. who, through ORT training, have il'oundtheir way back to norral life...if one speaks of such organizationsas OPT one usually looks at it from the economic aspect. But actually there is much more to it. ,,hatreally counts, is the fact that these people who have gone throur:hall the mis..ryof the camps aro a7ain al)leto con- cc,ntrateon work which tey perform .:itht'-leirhands." Bi-WeeklySummary,Vol. III,No.5 6 NEWS FROM AYERICA(contld) JacobSimonson,Chairmanof the ExhibitCommittee)welcomedthe guestson behalf of the AmericanORT Federation.Dr. Lvovitth;Chairman)ExecutiveCOmmittee) World ORT Union,in his addressgave a surveyof ORT w5rItthroughoutthe werld and expressed,on behalfof WorldORT Union,his thanksto the Europeangovern- mentsfor theirmoraland financialassistance."Theinterestmanifestedby our distinguishedguests",he said,"is a sourceof encouragementand inspirationte all of us in this countryconcernedwith the reconstructionof Jewishwar sur- vivorsthroughonttheworld."

NFTIYORK OFFICE,WORLD ORT UNION OhieiAccountantfor EuropeAppointed- Mr. IgnatzGoldman,hithertoaccountant for the Genevaheadquartershas beendesignatedActingChiefAccountantfor ORT in Europe. Mr. Goldman,a sincereand devotedworkerhas been highlypraisedby ORT'sauditors,Loeb& Troper,for his abilityand cooperation.

ORT IN THE NEWS UNITEDSTATES- The InternationalORT Exhibitat the New York ORT TradeSchoolhas receivedpublicityin newspapersand weekliesin New York and othercitiescf the UnitedStates. Reportsof the openingceremonyappearedin the New York Times, Herald-Tribuneand New York Post on January27, February1 and February spectively.Specialevents,suchas Army Day (Bi-',Ieekly:Slimmaryj,‘Vpl..6, re- UnitedNationsDay receivedpublicityon the followingdays. The Anglo-Yiddish press,Rusian and Germanlanguagenewspaperscarrieddetaileddescriptionsas well as picturesof the Exhibit.

On severaloccasionsORT leadershaveappearedon the radiocr televisiondescrib- ing the saga of ORT ard welcomingthe audienceto the 7xhibit. Thus,on February 5th,Mrs. SergeJarvis,vice president,'Tomen'sAmericanORT,was interviewedover the nationwidenetworkof -OR. Yrs. AlexanderDolowitz,pastpresident,7cmen's AmericanORT,brnadcasta reporton the ORT work in 1948and 1949 over station WEVD en February19th. On Wednesday,February3rd, ORT had its firstnighton televisionwhen two studentsof the ORT Schoolin New York and 0,nepupilcf the BramsonORT SchoolshowedORT trainingin actionand Mr. Len Margolies)chairman, PublicRelationsCommittee,AmericanORT Federation,actedas narratorcn WJZ-TV. Hcn.Y. MaldwinFertig,chairman,ExecutiveCommittee,AmericanORT Federation, spokeon ORT on the "ArnundNew York"programover station7INIConFebruary 28. (7ITZFRLAND- World Communique,bulletinof the 'iorld'sAllianceef YoungMents ChristianAssociations'UNICA),,in its Februaryissuepublishedseveral photosof ORT trainingcoursesin Germany.

FRANCE- An articleentitled"Apprendreun Metieren QuelquesMois" (Learninga Trade in a Few Yonths by EricSchieber,appearedin QuandMeme monthlybulletinof the Federationof JewishOrganizationsin France,1/2/1949. In this articleMr. Schieberdiscussesshort-termtrainingfrr adultsas practicedin ORT training centersin Franceand theirsuccessas demonstratedin the surveymade by the French inistryof laborof uaT gre.duAesof the ontfeuilSchool. (SeeEi- 7;eeklySunrary,Vol. III, #3). - "Le LoncleJuif," monthlyrevie7of the ParisCenterfor ContemporaryJeish T)ocu- ments,in its issueof February19)A9be.'nthe Publicationof a 7enera1serieson the activitiesof majorJewishoranizations. The firstarticleis devotedto the ORT in the formof an interviewwith 3r. C.L. lang,of the Tconomicflepartment, "WorldORT Union,Paris. .

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