The Federation of Polish Jews of America yesterday issued a protest against an interview granted by David A. Brown to the Polish Telegraphic Agency, regarding the condition of Polish Jewry, in a letter which it sent to leading Jewish organizations, calling upon them to take action against Mr. Brown.
The communication was addressed to the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, the American Jewish Committee and the Union of American Hebrew Congregations.
The interview granted by Mr. Brown to the Polish Telegraphic Agency during his recent stay in Warsaw stated that he saw no special misery among Polish Jewry and that “the alarming reports of the Jewish press and especially of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in America with regard to the terrible condition of the Jews in Poland which are perturbing American Jewry create in America a false picture with regard to the position of the Jews in Poland.”
The letter of the Polish Federation says:
“The Jewish papers of Poland which have just reached this country carry, prominently displayed, an interview which Mr. David A. Brown has given to the Polish Telegraphic Agency. From the copy of this interview which we are enclosing you will see that Mr. Brown expressed the viewpoint that alarming reports of the Jewish press and especially of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency with regard to the terrible condition of the Jews in Poland were perturbing American Jewry and creating, in America, a false picture with regard to the position of the Jews in Poland.
“All the Jewish newspapers in Poland, without exception, have accompanied this report with editorial remarks pointing out the ludicrous character of Mr. Brown’s statement.
“We hardly need point out to you the gravity of the offense Mr. Brown has committed. It is evident that the representative of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in Warsaw, as well as the correspondent of the other Jewish newspapers who are Polish citizens are by implication being denounced to the Polish Government as being engaged in propaganda against Poland with intention of blackening Poland’s reputation abroad.
“All reports which reach us, coming from Poland, indicate that Jewish conditions were never as difficult as today. The number of Jews who are compelled to apply to the Kehiloth for some assistance has reached much larger figures since the war. We have facts and figures in our files which prove beyond question that the economic situation in Poland is indescribably desperate.
“We are certain that these utterings of Mr. Brown are as misrepresentative of your Committee as they are of us and that same are a deeper reflection against your Committee than against us because of his very membership in your Committee. It is, therefore, our sincere hope and expectation that your Committee will take such action forthwith as this situation, as reported to us, requires.”
The Polish Telegraphic Agency interview with Mr. Brown declares interalia:
“In an interview with a representative of the Polish Telegraphic Agency, Mr. Brown indicated that the position of the Jews in Poland is the same as that of the Jews in other European lands and is closely bound up with the world economic crisis. He did not paint a black picture of conditions among Polish Jewry.
“It is characteristic that the jargon (?) press of Poland which hailed (?) Mr. Brown’s coming to Poland and described him as a great Jewish communal leader carried not a single interview with him upon his arrival or even a notice. This is certainly due to the fact that Brown did not see ‘any specific misery among the Jewish masses of Poland.’
“In the course of the interview, Brown pointed out that the alarming reports are incorrect which have been published by the Jewish press in America concerning the position of the Jews in Poland, which are disquieting American Jewry and producing a false picture of the status of Polish Jewry.”
“Unser Express,” Yiddish daily of Warsaw, published this report by the Polish Telegraphic Agency with the following comment:
“If Mr. Brown has really not seen the terrible need among Polish Jewry, then he is, unfortunately, very nearsighted or he sought to find evidence of this need in the “Hotel Europayski” where he stayed during his Warsaw visit.
“When one has dollars in his pocket and resides in the ‘Hotel Europayski’ it is truly difficult to see the Jewish masses in general and their misery in particular,” the paper concludes.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
