The Yiddish press in America comments widely on the resolutions of the administrative committee of the American Jewish Congress, asking cooperation of the American Jewish Committee and the B’nai B’rith in the formation of a united Jewish representative body.
The Day, in an editorial, states:
The American Jewish Congress has extended a hand of peace to the American Jewish Committee, the B’nai B’rith and other Jewish organizations, which have so far not been drawn into the movement for a Jewish World Congress.
It is peace and cooperation with all groups in American Jewish life which the American Jewish Congress seeks to achieve by its latest step, and not a trade in the basic principles of the Jewish World Congress. The idea of the Jewish World Congress remains as was. The Jewish World Congress will be called and will be called on a democratic basis.
But before the Jewish World Congress is convoked, another attempt is made to talk things over with the various groups in the Jewish people, in order to see on what conditions they can join the movement.
EXPRESSES HOPE
Expressing the hope that the manifestation for unity in Jewry displayed in the resolutions of the American Jewish Congress will be warmly received, Mr. Jacob Fishman comments in the Morning Journal:
There can be a difference of opinion on one of the points in the decisions. That is the so-called referendum, which asks whether there should be a single representative body acting as agent for all the Jews and whether a Jewish World Congress should be brought into being.
This referendum is, in the first place, quite superfluous. It is certain that those who come to vote in the elections to the American Jewish Congress are for both. Otherwise they would not bother to vote. And why should the American Jewish Congress ostensibly “challenge” the Jews to come and vote against these two principles?
And because it is superfluous, this may arouse a certain confusion and present an obstacle to the peace negotiations.
The decision to hold a superfluous referendum bears the stamp of a concession to the stormy petrels of the Congress movement. That is to say: true, we are going to a round table with the opposition, but we shall show them that we are strong as iron.
This is a bit of a dissonance to the other decisions and to the generally peaceful spirit of the action. In the same way, it was unnecessary to say what the American Jewish Congress will do should, God forbid, the unity not come. The present opponents of the Jewish World Congress will not be impressed by such a referendum, which will prove nothing, for the great majority of Jews will stay at home.
That is why I believe that the chances for achieving harmony would be greater if this superfluous referendum were to be omitted.
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.
