The Committee of Jewish Delegations is in favor of generalizing minority treaties to apply to all members of the League of Nations, but the representatives of the committee opposed the Polish declaration at Geneva, which imperilled the maintenance of existing minority protection, Dr. Nahum Goldmann, president of the committee declared in his report to the executive body of the organization.
Dr. Goldmann, who delivered a complete report on the activity of the organization in Geneva during the past year, also discussed the position of the Jews in the Saar plebiscite district and the situation of the Jews in the various countries of Europe.
Dr. Goldmann, who delivered a complete report on the activity of the organization in Geneva during the past year, also discussed the position of the Jews in the Saar plebiscite district and the situation of the Jews in the various countries of Europe.
PROBLEMS AIRED
“There were three questions,” Dr. Goldmann writes, “under discussion: The minorities, the Saar, and the situation of the Jews in the various countries. So far as the minorities question is concerned, the position of the Committee was laid down in a communique issued by the Committee. The Committee is entirely in favor of the generalization of minority rights, for which, besides Poland and the other minority states, the majority of the neutral European states declared themselves.
“Under all circumstances, however, Jewry must stand for the maintenance of the existing minority protection which is imperilled by the declaration of the Polish government. The development of the situation created by the Polish declaration is not yet to be seen, since the Polish declaration from the legal aspect does not constitute a formal notice to the minority treaties. It will be the task of the signatory powers to the Peace Treaty and of the League of Nations Council to find a solution to the question brought up by the League of Nations.
HAS OPENED QUESTION
The Polish declaration and the discussion in Geneva has, however, opened up the minorities problem again. We Jews were the ones who had a decisive share in bringing about the minority treaties in the Peace negotiations, and it is our duty, now that these rights are imperilled, to watch over them and to exert all efforts to prevent their weakening or abolition. The position of the Jews in Central and Eastern Europe shows how necessary minority protection is for us and for all minorities.
Even if much of these rights are not being carried into effect, they are of extraordinary importance as a symbol and a principle as well as a last legal guarantee of Jewish rights. We may establish that the entire Jewish world, including those Jewish groups who during the Peace negotiations were sceptical about the idea of minorities protection, are today full of the need of maintaining the minorities rights, and it is hoped that there will be a united front formed of all Jewish groups and organizations to fight in defense of these rights.”
REPORT OF LASKI TALKS
Dr. Goldmann reported in this connection on the conversations which he had in conjunction with Neville Laski, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, with various statesmen on the minorities question, particularly with the Polish Foreign Minister, Colonel Beck, the Czechoslovakian Foreign Minister, Dr. Benes, and the Spanish representative, Senor de Madariaga, who was also chairman of the Sixth Commission. The conversation with Colonel Beck brought out that he repeatedly declared the determination of his government to protect the equality of rights of all minorities in Poland, pointing out that this principle is embodied in the new Polish Constitution. The Jewish representatives drew his attention to the fact that with all satisfaction at the attitude of the Polish government, the need of the minorities protection did not fall away since in practice the justified demands of the Jewish population in Poland were not always fulfilled, and in addition the system of minorities protection is not dependent on the attitude of any government, but that the system has its significance for the future and in eventualities that may arise.
DR. BENES DECLARATION
Dr. Benes declared, as he also stated publicly at the Sixth Commission, that the Czechoslovakian government is prepared to carry out in full the existing minorities obligations, and is convinced that it has done so fully in the past.
On the Saar question Dr. Goldmann reported that the Committee had in February submitted its first memorandum to the Saar Commission of the League of Nations, and since then is in permanent contact with the members of this Commission as well as the various governments represented in the League of Nations Council. At the beginning of September the Committee had submitted a new memorandum, together with the opinions of important international lawyers, establishing the rights and competence of the League of Nations Council to take protective measures for the whole of the population of the Saar territory, whatever eventualities may arise.
CONCRETE PROPOSALS
“The second memorandum,” Dr. Goldmann states, “contains a number of concrete proposals for carrying out the principle of equality of rights for all minorities in the Saar territory. The Saar Commission in the League’s Council is now considering the question raised in this memorandum. There will be a special meeting of the League’s Council in November, to deal with the Saar question, and it is expected that the questions which are of special interest to Jews will come up for discussion. It is hoped that protective measures will be taken which, especially in the eventuality of reincorporation of the Saar in Germany, will secure the rights and positions of all Saar inhabitants, including the Jews. In the event of the incorporation in France, the French government has also declared in its memorandum that all inhabitants of the Saar will have complete equality of rights.
“There is no need to emphasize what extreme significance this question has in principle for the whole of Jewry. Here, too, there should be a united front of all Jews. The Committee has co-operated from the outset with the Joint Foreign Committee in this question.”
ON AUSTRIA
Dr. Goldmann also reported on the conversations with various statesmen on the situation of the Jews in the various countries. He referred to the statement made by the Austrian Chancellor, Dr. Schuschnigg, but said that unfortunately the actual situation in Austria did not permit them to speak of full equality of rights of the Austrian Jews in view of their treatment by the government.
“The continuing dismissals of Jewish officials,” he said, “which have not yet ceased, the issue of the order relating to Jewish classes, etc., pointed to the existence of anti-Semitic tendencies in government quarters. It was necessary to make all efforts to bring about the realization of the statement made by Chancellor Schuschnigg, clearly setting out the principle that Austria knows no two classes of citizens, and that the Jewish citizens will be treated with full equality. The Austrian situation, emphasizes the importance of the minorities protection, for a grave infringement of Jewish equality of rights such as in Austria should engage the attention of the League of Nations.
Dr. Goldmann and Mr. Neville Laski also saw the Latvian Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs, M. Munter, and the Lithuanian Minister for Foreign Affairs, M. Lozoraitis, and both Ministers gave assurances with regard to the existing minority rights in their countries. The situation in Latvia as in various other European States, he went on, makes it necessary to continue to see that the legal and actual position of the Jewish population is assured.
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.
