News Brief

A heated debate between the Jewish communists and the non-partisan delegates attending the Jewish land settlement conference in session here developed Thursday on the question of the proposed Jewish autonomous republic within the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

The non-partisan delegates headed by Dr. Abraham Bragin. author of the republic plan and supporter of the Jewish colonization movement accused the Yevsektzia. the Jewish section of the Communist party. of suppressing the national tendency of the Jewish colonization movement in Soviet Russia at a time when Kalinin, Tchicherin. and Petrowsky deciate that the compact settlement of Jews on the land leads to an autonomous republic.

“You deny the national element of this movement.” Bragin exclaimed, demanding that “the Jewish republic” be proclaimed as the slogan for the colonization movement.

The Jewish communists, headed by Tchemerisky, while not denying the idea of a Jewish republic in principle, argued that such a slogan at the present stage would be inexpedient and harmful. Although the colonization. the industrialization and the cultural work among the Jewish population is being conducted within the national boundaries, the Jewish section has rejected their nationalistic tendency, they argued.

J. Larin expressed his disagreement with the leaders of the Jewish section. He admitted the right of the Jews to independence within Soviet Russia, including a Jewish republic. He sharply criticized the Yiddish Communist writer, Litvakov, editor of the Communist daily, “Emes,” and others for their sharp attacks against Bragin, declaring the latter to be “a noted Soviet journalist and social worker.” The speaker rerninded the Communist party of the devotion of the non-partisan intellectuals to the colonization movement. Tchemerisky denied Larin the right to express his views on Jewish problems, claiming that he, as the head of the Jewish section of the Communist Party, has the sole right to speak. Partisans of both views were seen to react to the arguments of each group.

At the Thursday afternoon session, the attitude toward Zionism was discussed. Mr. Larin, speaking on the subject, declared “If the World Zionist Organization will harm the colonization movement in Russia, we will brand it as a shameful and dangerous action toward the Jewish poor. We won’t combat Zionism inside our settling organizations.”

Statements to the same effect were made by Mr. Weinstein, vice-president of the Ozet, and by Merejin. Merejin added that even some Zionists are members of the Ozet. Weinstein acknowledged the great services of the foreign organizations, mentioning first the Agrojoint. the lca and the Ort, and declaring that the Soviet Government would gladly admit foreign organizations which are willing to do the work along the same lines as the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee.