The Polish Senate today adopted a new constitution which abolishes the proportional electoral system and deals a severe blow to the Jews of the country, who were represented in the lower house by six deputies. Passage of the new constitution in the Sejm is regarded as a foregone conclusion, since the government bloc has an absolute majority there.
Representatives of the German and Ukrainian minority groups in the Senate voted against the new constitution, since they also would be affected adversely.
Jewish leaders are convinced that under the new system not a single Jew will be elected to Parliament as such.
SUGGEST MINORITY ACTION
Nasz Preglad, Polish Jewish daily, suggests that the Jewish leaders approach the government and discuss the possibility of introducing a Jewish electoral college, which the paper considers the only chance Polish Jewry has left of securing Parliamentary representation. The paper pointed out the fact that other minority group representatives also voted against the new constitution and suggested the possibility of united action.
Competent political observers believe, however, that the government and the government parties would not be willing to grant separate electoral colleges, even if it comes as a united demand of all minority groups in the land.
Marshal Josef Pilsudski, Polish dictator, has been known to be extremely dissatisfied with the present constitution and has expressed his contempt for parliamentary government. One proposal now before the Senate is to have deputies elected from professional, agricultural, labor and municipal groups instead of from political parties.
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.
