Following four hours of heated debate, the national executive committee of the Zionist Organization of America voted at a meeting in the Astor yesterday to shelve the proosal to convene a World Jewish Congress in the spring of this year. The matter was placed in the hands of a committee to be named. By a vote of 25 to 17, the executive committee voted in favor of postponement of the Congress until a more appropriate time.
The meeting was treated to verbal argument which centered abuot a resolution made the outset by S. Margoshes, editor of The Day, that the Zionist Organization of America put its support behind a movement on foot for some time to convene a world conelave of Jews. The objective of the conclave would be the organization fo a permanent body for Jewish self-defense and for the settlement of Palestine.
Louis Lipsky and Rabbi Stephen S. Wise, representing respectively the negative and positive veiws on the resolution, took up the cudgels and supported each by respective speakers discussed tyhe issue which almost ended in a snarl and which resulted in a forensic battle of the most engaging sort.
With th backing of most of the members present before the debate started Mr. Lipsky delivered an impassioned address scor ing the proponents of the world Jewish congress on the ground that the time is not ripe and that differences among the Jewish people would throw the congress into a dealock which would accomplish nothing. He did not, however, disclaim his favor for a world Jewish congress some time in the future on a unstated date.
Rabbi Wise, preceded by adherents of the Margoshes resolution who described the present situation confronting Jews everyhwhere as “one demanding the convening of a world Jewish congress,” spoke for an hour peading for support “in this hour of need” for the world meeting.
Morris Rothenberg, president of the Zionist Organization of America, spoke in support of Mr. Lipsky against Dr. Wise’s move to hold a world meeting.
The exchange of diatribe elicited form each of the speakers recriminations which cloulded the issue of the congress. Mr. Rothenberg, who president, had difficulty keeping order.
The points made by Mr. Lipsky were enumerated as follows:
1. The world Congress would not be representative of the masses of world Jewry.
2. Differences of opinion among the Jewsih political parties would result in failure of the conference.
3.The conferrence should be postponed in order that more consideration should be given to plans for the convocation and for the “education” of the masses for the conference.
Dr. Wise and Rabbi Louis I. Newman outlined their arguments as follows:
1. The pressure of the Hitler persecutions makes the convocation of a reprsentative world Jewsih body imperative.
2.Two years of preparation is behind the plan for the organization of a world congress of Jews.
3.Mandate for the conference would come from the gathering itself.
4.The differences dividing Jews of all lands makes concerted action at this time.
5. Zionist airms would be primary in the conference’s agenda.
The issue was befogged by the injection of personal recriminations throughout the meeting yesterday. At one point Mr. Lipsky was compared with a Nazi who “aims at the destrusction of the purposese of the Zionists,” but the insult was withdrawn.
Dr. Wise repeatedly was obliged to jump up from his seat in the audience to demand a retraction form one speaker or another who sought to sway th gengeral sentiment by using objectionable terms.
“Disaspora natioanalsim” and “assimilationism” came in for their share of ridicule, as did the “inaction of pianissimo Jews.”
The first few hours of the meeting were orderly, Dr. Margoshes outling his arguments demanding an immediate convocation of world Jewish bodies which he insisted needs no supporting arguments.
He belittled the suggestion that the Zionist Organization of Americanica “is a philanthropic body organized to promote the settlement of their co-religionists in Plaestine.” He asserted with emphasis and much emotion that the organization “has a higher purpose.”
He took issue with those whom he styled “plutocrates” bent upon the destruction of the proposal to convene the Jews in a world federation.
Mr. Lipsky in turn assailed “sham Jews who are united for pocketbook puroses.” He roundly scored the differences Jewish organizations and insisted that unless their differences are ironed out the world meeting would fail. He demanded a “democratic conference, representing the true interests of the Jewish people,” stand later attacked with little mincing of words by Dr. Newman who said that in time of emergency “we need emergency measures.”
Dr. Wise voiced his conviction that the “members must take the bull by the horns” and call the conclave regardless of internal difficulties among the Jews. He said, quoting Mr. Lipsky, “there must be organization of Jews” but “we shall never achieve it by straddling the issue and debating over whether we are technically a unified people or not.”
He amused his hearers when with biting sarcasm he said that “Lipsky and Rothenberg should have rehearsed their their act more often.”
He said that postponement will never give the Jews a unified opinion. “We want unity. but not uniformity,” he declared.
Dr. Wise launched into a tirade of criticism against the “antinationalists” and “anti-Zionists.” He took issue with what he called “diaspora nationallism” and mentioned the Geneva an othe historical Jewish conferences which he said were “called in suite of the opposition.”
Referring to himself as “the truth speaker” Dr. Wise told of the late Louis Marshall and Theodore Herzl who he said had not been confounded by “adversarues of Mr. Lipsky’s kind.”
He admittd that the prevalling santiment was against his hope for a world meeting of Jews, but said that he will “not surrender.”
At the suggestion of Abraham Goldberg who argued that the World Congress will have universal support but that there is difference of opinion simply in the matter of time and place, the resolution was given to a committee which will come to a final deeision as to datails.
Jacob Fishman, of The Jewish Morning Journal, said that the Canadian Jewish Congress which recently met in Toronto, made the issue clear when it supported the Congress but disagreed as to time. He said the time should be decided upon by a committee.
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.
