t • • DEDICATED TO AMERICA'S INTEREST IN A SECURE ISRAEL Mil REPORT • t • ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA (Annual Convention October 4th-7th, 1956 ׳־•> ; , / ~9r b t * l^J ׳0 MAYFLOWER H OTEL — W AS H I N GTO N . D. C. ־1־ NATIONAL ADMINISTRATION President MORTIMER MAY Nashville, Tenn. Past Presidents BENJAMIN G. BROWDY DR. EMANUEL NEUMANN Brooklyn, N. Y. LOUIS LIPSKY New York, N. Y. DR. ISRAEL GOLDSTEIN New York, N. Y. DR. ABBA HILLEL SILVER New York, N. Y. RABBI IRVING MILLER Cleveland, Ohio JUDGE LOUIS E. LEVINTHAL Woodmere, N. Y. ROBERT SZOLD Philadelphia, Pa. Pelham, N. Y. Honorary Vice Presidents MAX BRESSLER ALBERT SCHIFF Chicago, 111. DAVID MOSKOWITZ New York, N. Y. DR. LEON I. FEUER Bronx, N. Y. DR. DEWEY D. STONE Toledo, Ohio CHARLES RESS Brockton, Mass. PAUL GAISER Mt. Vernon, N, Y. WILLIAM H. SYLK Dayton, Ohio Philadelphia, Pa. Vice Presidents JOSEPH ANDELMAN JUDGE ALBERT D. SCHANZER Washington, D. C. DR. MORRIS A. LANDES Brooklyn, N. Y. ABRAHAM GOODMAN Pittsburgh, Pa. EZRA SHAPIRO New York, N. Y. DR. MARCUS LEVINSON Cleveland, Ohio BENJAMIN E. GORDON Houston, Texas BERNARD SHULMAN Teaneck, N. J. JUDGE ARTHUR MARKEWICH Chicago, 111. JOSEPH W. GREENLEAF New York, N. Y. JULIUS STONE Mt. Vernon, N. Y. DR. MAX NUSSBAUM Boston, Mass. ABRAHAM S. KARFF Hollywood, Calif. DR. JOSEPH TENENBAUM Boston, Mass. ABRAHAM A. REDELHEIM New York, N. Y. RABBI I. USHER KIRSHBLUM Brooklyn, N. Y. JACQUES TORCZYNER Kew Gardens Hills, N. Y. DR. MORTON J. ROBBINS New York, N. Y. JUDGE JOSEPH E. KLAU Nashua, N. H. BEN R. WINICK Hartford, Conn. Knoxville, Tenn. Chairman, National Executive Committee DR. EMANUEL NEUMANN New York, N. Y. Associate Chairmen, National Executive Committee HERMAN L. WEISMAN Scarsdale, N. Y. DR. MAX NUSSBAUM Hollywood, Calif. Chairman, National Administrative Council DR. HARRIS J. LEVINE Bronx, N. Y. Associate Chairman, National Administrative Council DR. MAXWELL ABBEI.L Chicago, 111. Vice Chairman, National Executive Committee MICHAEL H. EGNAL Philadelphia, Pa. Vice Chairmen, National Administrative Council BERNARD BUCHHOLZ MILTON J. SILBERMAN Mt. Vernon, N. Y. Chicago, 111. BENJAMIN J. DO FT DR. HYMAN D. SILVER Lawrence, N. Y. Bronx, N. Y. Secretary, National Administrative Council PHILIP S. RESNIKOV Philadelphia, Pa. National Treasurer Chairman, National Finance Committee I. S. TUROVER WILLIAM K. DORFMAN Washington, D. C. Forest Hills, N. Y. Associate Treasurers LEO R. BURSON JACK VERDI Memphis, Tenn. San Francisco, Calif. B. G. RUDOLPH CHARLES WOLF Syracuse, N. Y. New York, N. Y. Honorary General Counsel MILTON POLLACK New York, N. Y. National Secretary DR. SIDNEY MARKS New York, N. Y. Officers of the Zionist Organization of America are members of the National Executive Committee. IN ISRAEL: DANIEL FRISCH ST., TEL-AVIV ן ,, :IB ADDRESS NISTS, N. Y. Cable Address: ZOAOUSE, TELAVIV ההסתדרות הציונית של ארצות הברית 145 EAST 32ND STREET • NEW YORK 16, N.Y. • MURRAY HILL 3-920 1 To The 59th National Convention of the Zionist Organization of America Dear Fellow Zionist: This current report covers ZOA's fifty-ninth year. The twelve months, ending August 31st, 1956, were by far among the most active in our history. The accounts, which follow my own, outline the principal activities that took place and suggest the remarkable scope of our activities. It will repay careful study. Our ZOA Program for Israel and the American Jewish Community attracted a most gratifying degree of interest from the public. ZOA membership increased and our fund-raising rose. The Zionist Organization of America, I believe, is in a healthy condition in all major respects, except for a vitally important need for increased income to improve its financial stability, a pressing requirement to perform its functions more efficiently. Further on, I will have more to say about these problems. The organization is functioning smoothly despite the heavy load of the tense situation in Israel and the Middle East, the increase in our activities, and the financial burdens of the past year. Our President, Mortimer May, his administra- tion and our staff are loyal, capable, and deeply devoted to the organization they serve. They are the mainsprings of our progress, and we owe them a very real debt of gratitude. I am glad to say that in the course of the year it was possible to make some staff adjustments in salaries, which gave practical expression to this appreciation. The foundation of any organization is its program and activities. Ours is generally agreed to be the foremost and most active Zionist Organization in the world. Our primary goal is to continue to improve our work for Israel and Jewry and to expand it modestly within our means. The officers and membership of our organization share our faith in the future of Israel and Jewry and the continued need for the Zionist Organization of America. They share, too, the belief that constant advancement is essential to the vitality and efficacy of our organization. They, therefore, conceive the role of ZOA as supporting promising experiments and new developments in the advancement of Zionist objectives. The work in the fields of Young Adult Zionists and Hebrew have been intensi- fied. We are building new leadership to assume the future responsibilities of Zionist and American Jewish community life. Every part of our program projected by the 58th Annual Convention has been implemented and even exceeded. Our work in Israel and our public relations and educational activities on the American scene is the story of the unconventional which has become the common-place, of the un- tried which has become the routine, of the non-conforming which has become the customary. This has always been the happy as well as the challenging mission of our Zionist Organization of America. Entering our sixtieth year is an appropriate point from which to focus on the future aims and needs of the Zionist Organization of America. A ZOA Platform has utilize־ been formulated for presentation to the National Convention. It will financial resources to encourage experimentation in directions which will advance Zionism, Jewry and Israel. A review of our expanded services in the following pages, combined with constantly rising costs, has resulted in an increase in expenditures. But through economies and increased income, the operating budget has been held closely in balance. During the past few years there has been a significant rise in American Zionist Fund contributions which have been utilized for our program. Our revenue for administration is solely derived from membership income, A high proportion of all income coming from the thousands of members through the country indicates strong public support. On the other hand, heavy dependence on these far too modest resources often make it difficult for the organization to undertake projects of great intrinsic value which do not promise to capture the public imagination. There is no doubt that the organization would be in a far healthier financial situation and better able to perform its functions if it could substantially increase its income from the American Zion- ist Fund. This can be done only by making the most intense effort to increase our American Zionist Fund contributions and by making our financial needs clear to those who might potentially be interested in making gifts or bequests to the Zionist Organization of America. The best hope of achieving these Zionist goals is to continue to provide the kinds of program and activity for Israel and Jewry which people everywhere will feel deserve their support. Besides performing our functions well, we must also make it clear to those interested or potentially interested that we need help and that our increased roster of membership and our rate of growth of American Zionist Fund collections are not enough in themselves to solve our basic, serious financial questions. In closing, I must say a special word of thanks to the officers and governing bodies of our regions and districts. They have been extremely generous in contributing time, effort, intelligent advice and important financial support. They constituted one of the most important reasons for ZOA'8 continued success. No attempt has been made in this report to review all of our projects and activities. Those reviewed have been selected to illustrate the nature of our concerns and operations. I do hope that this 59th Annual Convention will stimulate profitable thinking and discussion of those fundamental problems facing Israel, Jewry and your ZOA so as to generate clearer concepts of the ends to be sought and better an organization on which so ־ ideas of the means to achieve them through ZOA large a measure of our hope for the future of our People depends. In this spirit, this report is respectfully submitted. My kindest personal regards. Sincerely yours, Dr. Sidney Marks National Secretary and Executive Director A £NT־ACCOU NT IMG DS ?A R17 The fiscal year ending August 31, 1956 "brought many problems and difficul- ties to the organization. The continuous emergencies, the many new activities such as Young Adult Zionists and Hebrew Culture 86 Language, the expansion of old ones, the payment of our Shekel obligation to the World Zionist Organization, ex- penses in connection with the World Zionist Congress, and the continuing rise in costs, in every field, paper, printing, postage and labor in particular, played havoc with our budgets and our finances. In spite of reduction of staff and every economy which could be instituted without hampering the work of the organization, it was impossible to find adequate funds for all our needs. Our membership ex- ceeded that of the previous year, our fund raising showed a splendid increase, but greater financial resources are required to keep our organization on a sound fi- nancial basis. The Accounting Department has done everything within its power to administer faithfully all funds of the organization and keep accurate records thereof.