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President of Warsaw Disciplinary Court Replaced for Favoritism to Anti-semites; Student Protest Demo

December 23, 1932
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The president of the University Court was recalled from office by the Senate of the University of Warsaw because of the partiality evinced by him to the students on trial for attacking the Jews during the recent anti-Semitic excesses, the Yiddish press reports today.

Professor Waszutinski, the presiding officer recalled, showed his favoritism to such an extent that Jewish students who suffered at the hands of anti-Semites were expelled as disciplinary measures, while their attackers escaped with minor reprimands.

The dean of the Evangelical College of the University of Warsaw, a clerical, Bursze, was appointed to replace Waszutinski.

The Yiddish press expresses the hope that Bursze will conduct the trials impartially and will not evince the provocative methods displayed by his predecessor.

A protest demonstration against the recent anti-Jewish excesses in Poland participated in by three thousand students of New York colleges yesterday afternoon ended in a near riot when mounted police sought to prevent the demonstrators from presenting a resolution of protest to the Polish Consulate in New York.

The melee occurred when mounted police drove into the crowd and sought to prevent their approach to the offices of the consulate. One of the marchers was arrested and a half dozen clubbed. The arrested man is James Strafino, a non-Jew, of 709 W. 176th street.

Participating in the demonstration were members of the Social Problems Clubs of City College, New York University, Columbia University, Hunter College, Long Island University, the National Student League, the Menorah Society and the Young Poale Zion Organization.

The demonstration began in perfect order at 1.30 P. M. in front of Hunter

College, 68th street and Lexington avenue. The expectation was that everything would proceed in orderly fashion. A resolution was read, which, it was announced, would be presented to the Polish Consulate. After voicing protest against the anti-Semitic rioting which has been recurrent in Polish Universities for a long time, the resolution declared it was the sence of American Jewish students that the Polish government, if sincere in its desire, coud prevent the outbreaks. It further charged that the government itself had presented a precedent for the excesses by the discrimination which it practices against the Jews in the various fields of economic endeavor.

Following the reading of the resolution, the students, joined by sympathizers, formed in the line of march, beginning at 67th street and Lexington avenue, circling Park avenue and proceeding to 66th street and Third avenue, around the block on which the offices of the Polish Consulate are situated.

The police permitted the procession to proceed until it reached 67th street and Third avenue, as the demonstration was within three-quarters of a block from the Polish Consulate. At this point, a cordon of mounted police formed and opposed the turn of the marchers.

Police asserted that the marchers had no permission to pass the Consulate Later, Captain Day of the 67th Street police station, told newspapermen that the marchers had obtained a permit to pass the consulate, but that it was later rescinded by Police Commissioner Mulrooney.

The mounted police were joined by thirty policemen on foot, while scores of detectives mixed with the throng.

Undismayed by the police, the marchers pushed forward into 67th street, where the police drove into them. The crowd countered with a chorus of boos which continued as one line of the marchers after another attempted to break through.

Making no headway against the drive of the police, the marchers scattered into cliques and dispersed. Dr. Arthur Kraus, an instructor in the philosophy department of City College, the hunger striker, who organized the demonstration, was in the procession and declared that the demonstration against pogroms had ended in a pogrom on American students.

Speakers at the demonstratin included Herbert Solow, former contributing editor of the “Menorah Journal”; Jacob Katzman of the Young Poale Zion Organization; Julius Shapiro, and representatives of the Brooklyn College Menorah and the National Student League.

Mr. Solow declared that the problem of anti-Semitism has become universal. “Jewish blood is flowing in Poland now. Only yesterday pogroms occurred in Roumania. Today on the streets of Berlin, Fascists agitate against the Jews. In America this anti-Semitism takes a milder form, but if the economic depression continues to make hopeless the young professional graduating from college, there may be attempts to translate this milder form into a more severe form of Jew baiting.”

Jacob Katzman declared that had the Polish government made a bona fide attempt to suppress the anti-Jewish outbreaks, it could have done so, since “it had no difficulty in suppressing the outbreaks of Ukrainian peasants, nor does it seem to have any difficulty in suppressing the sporadic attempts of workers to secure better conditions.”

Mr. Shapiro scoffed at the reports that the Polish government is taking disciplinary measures against the student rioters. He pointed out that at the Polytechnic Institute in Warsaw, a Jewish student who acted in self-defense was the one most severely punished.

After the demonstration had dispersed, Zygfried Englich, acting Polish Consul General, received a delegation of newspapermen. He informed the press that Dr. Arthur Kraus had on several occasions received the aid, financial and otherwise, of the Polish Consulate.

He denied that any written request for a hearing had been received from the students, declaring that an appointment would have been made, had such a request been received.

Asked concerning the reports that the Polish authorities had made no genuine effort to prevent the anti-Jewish outbreaks, the Consul stated that it was extremely difficult for the Polish government to do anything in matters of this nature since the Polish universities where the outbreaks originated enjoy autonomy. The Polish government did act, notwithstanding, and prevented a recurrence of the outbreaks, he asserted.

In an effort to relieve distress among many needy families of Rochester, N. Y., the numerous Young Israel groups of that city have undertaken to collect donations of food and distribute it.

Baskets of food will be distributed during the week of the Chanukah holiday.

Captain Abraham Tulin, member of the administrative committee of the Zionist Organization of America, addressed a rally of the Order Sons of Zion, in Newark.

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