J. D. B. News Letter

I do not think that any very large changes will be made in minorities procedure, Lucien Wolf said, referring to the meetings of the Committee of Three of the League of Nations Council, consisting of Sir Austen Chamberlain, Mr. Adatchi and Senor Quinones de Leon, which have been held in London during last week, when he presented the Report of the Joint Foreign Committee to the meeting of the Anglo-Jewish Association today.

On the whole, he added, I think that drastic changes might not be of very great advantage to us, and in the French saying, I feel we get on very well as we are, and although there are difficulties, I am very much afraid of anything which would throw the minorities procedure into the melting pot, for it would not come out stronger for the minorities.

The Joint Foreign Committee had had no meeting in April, Mr. Wolf said, because no new questions had called for the decision of the Committee, and the President and Secretariat had been occupied with the consideration of previous questions. The Committee would have a meeting next Wednesday, when it would have before it a full agenda. He could not anticipate what the Committee would do in regard to the questions to be raised, but they would have before it the Report on the Revision of the Statute of the Permanent Court of International Justice, which was of considerable importance. They had considered making a number of suggestions in the interests of minorities, but the whole question of minorities procedure was brought before the Council of the Council of the League of Nations and was now under the consideration of a special Committee of Enquiry and there would have been confusion had they made the recommendations they had intended to make. The Report of the Committee of Jurists had been published, and it made no difference as far as they were concerned in the pdocedure and jurisdiction of the Court.

The great question before them at the moment was the question of minorities procedure. The question was raised under sensational circumstances by the German and Polish Governments and it had lately been under the consideration of a Committee of Enquiry which would report to the Council Meeting to be held at Madrid in June. The second and final meeting of enquiry was held last week in London and yesterday morning, he understood, they had agreed on their Report, subject to certain minor alterations which are left to the Secretariat to attend to. The proceedings were confidential and the confidence had been fairly well maintained. Certain proposals of the various States had been courteously communicated to (Continued on Page 4)

Dealing with the question of the refugees in Constantinople, Mr. Wolf said that it had been feared that those refugees would have been expelled on February 1st last, but the fear had not been realized. The Turkish Government was holding its hand and the number of Jewish refugees had been considerably diminished since the beginning of the year.

Turning to the agitation for the reform of the calendar. Mr. Wolf said that they were watching this matter very carefully in the interest of the Jewish Sabbath.

A formal report was submitted to the meeting of the proceedings at the Anglo-Jewish Conference on the Jewish Agency, which was held on April 21st, under the chairmanship of O. E d’ Avigdor Goldsmid.

The Rev. Michael Adler, who has just returned from his stay in Palestine, gave an account of his visit to the Evelina de Rothschild School in Jerusalem and other Jewish educational institutions.

The election of officers resulted in the return of the old officers, including Leonard G. Montefiore, President; and the Haham Dr. M. Gaster. O. E. d’Avigdor Goldsmid, Chief Rabbi Dr. J. H. Herrz. Sir Philip Magaus. Dr. Claude G. Montefiore. Colonel Sir Matthew Nathan. Joseph Prag. Lord Rothschild. Lioned de Rothschild. Oswald John Simon and Sir Edward Stern. Vice-Presidents.