A Week’s Events in Review

General Ludendorff, known for his hatred of Jews long before the Nazis came into power, is again coming to the forefront in Germany after long years of silence. Persistent rumors have it that he will be appointed Chief of the new General Staff in Germany.

With General Ludendorff as head of the military forces of Naziland, it is quite clear that Jews will not be admitted into the German army. The old general was an advocate of racial purity long before Hitler introduced his “Aryan paragraph.” He is especially particular about keeping the ranks of the army clear of Jews.

ANSWER ON DRAFT WILL BE NEGATIVE

The official reply which the Jewish War Veterans Association in Germany received this week from the War Office in Berlin that the question of whether Jews will be conscripted into the army as equal citizens will be answered by Hitler himself, is therefore now practically sure to be in the negative. Ludendorff as much as indicated this week that as far as he is concerned, the army must be conducted on a racial basis only.

This statement by Ludendorff shatters the last illusion cherished by certain Jewish elements in Germany that they might after all be taken into the army when the conscription is started. They still clung to this hope even when the Jewish War Veterans were told to remove the wreath they had laid on the War Memorial in Berlin last week when the memory of the heroes who fell in the war was honored in Germany.

DANZIG OFFERS PLEASANT SURPRISE

With the situation of the Jews in Germany going from bad to worse, it was a pleasant surprise this week to see how the Nazis failed in their attempt to capture the parliamentary elections in Danzig. Many Jews in Danzig had already packed their belongings in preparation to leave the city, expecting the Nazis to obtain the same results there as in the Saar plebiscite.

The defeat in Danzig has postponed for the time being the danger of the Danzig constitution being changed to enable the Nazis to introduce the “Aryan paragraph” in Danzig along the same lines as in Germany. Deprived of the right to introduce this anti-Jewish paragraph officially, the Nazi administration in Danzig will, however, practice unofficially the anti-Jewish discriminations implied in this paragraph. With a sixty per cent majority in the Danzig parliament, the Nazis are still the dominating power in the Free City, even though the elections of last Sunday did not give them the full two-thirds majority which they attempted to obtain in the parliament.

BUCHAREST SCENE OF RIOTING

The good news from Danzig this week was overshadowed by sad news from Rumania. A wave of anti-Jewish demonstrations took place in Bucharest this week, during which Jews were attacked on the streets for several days. In the University of Bucharest clashes took place between anti-Semitic and Jewish students, resulting in the injury of many Jews.

In an effort to avoid the recurrence of such clashes in the university, the administration closed the university until after the Easter vacation. At the same time increased police forces were stationed throughout Bucharest, as evidence that the government intends to deal seriously with the anti-Semitic students, in case of renewed outbreaks. Thirty of these students were arrested and will be put on trial.

EYES ON PARLEY AT CRAJOVA

The eyes of Rumanian Jewry are, however, directed toward Crajova, a township in Rumania, where a congress of the anti-Semitic students is scheduled to take place today (Sunday). This congress was originally prohibited by the authorities. It is at this congress that resolutions will probably be adopted asking the government for all kinds of restrictions against Jews. The outcome of this congress may also lead to anti-Semitic disturbances throughout the entire country.

The long Nazi arm of Berlin was seen in the anti-Semitic student disturbances in Bucharest when the authorities arrested two Germans as the instigators. The Nazi movement is officially prohibited in Rumania. So is the anti-Semitic movement. Nevertheless both are active.

RADOMSK CLASHES RESULT IN DEATH

Anti-Jewish riots were reported this week also from Poland, from the city of Radomsk, where one Jew was stabbed to death and many Jews seriously injured. These riots were conducted by the anti-Semitic Polish National Democratic youth organization, which has become very active of late in its anti-Jewish propaganda.

Despite the fact that the anti-Semitic National Democratic Party is conducting propaganda against the present Pilsudski regime as much as against the Jews, for some mysterious reason the Polish authorities are not hampering the party in its activities. The Polish government, harshly censoring as it does the Jewish press for criticizing Hitler, Goering or Goebbels, does not find it necessary to censor the anti-Semitic press for spreading dangerous anti-Jewish propaganda throughout the country.

MASS EMIGRATION FROM POLAND

The growing anti-Semitic spirit in Poland, coupled with the growing poverty there among the Jews, is leading the Jewish population to mass emigration from the country. This is exactly what the Polish government wishes to achieve. Proudly it was reported this week in the Polish press that Jews now comprise ninety per cent of the entire number of emigrants from Poland.

Most of the Jews from Poland naturally proceed to Palestine. It is in Palestine that they feel themselves at home; it is there they find work from the very first day of their arrival, and where once and forever they rid themselves of the misery which they suffered in Poland.

MILLION WOULD GO TO PALESTINE

The number of Polish Jews anxious to migrate to Palestine can be estimated at over a million. Only a few thousand, however, are fortunate enough to be admitted under the present restrictive immigration laws existing in Palestine. These laws permit an average of 5,000 Polish Jews a year to enter Palestine.

The problem of the immigration restrictions existing in Palestine were widely discussed last week at the Zionist Actions Committee before closing its sessions in Jerusalem. Res###-tions were adopted by the Committee demanding that a larger immigration be permitted into Palestine, especially since the shortage of labor in the country is constantly increasing.

RIFT IN ZIONISM GREW WIDER

The session of the Actions Committee in Jerusalem this time was far from being an asset to the Zionist movement. Instead of bringing unity into Zionism, this session brought about even a greater split in the Zionist ranks. It resulted in the following negative developments:

1. The Revisionists were practically thrown out of the Zionist Organization by being compelled to leave the Actions Committee and to announce its non-participation in the next Zionist Congress.

2. The Mizrachi and some factions of the General Zionists were further alienated from the present Zionist Executive.

3. The silent antipathy existing between Pinchas Ruthenberg and Dr. Chaim Weizmann was climaxed into an open breach.

4. The scandal about the liquidation of the Jewish Colonial Trust was again covered up.

5. The shameful barter agreement with Germany was again approved.

POSITIVE DEVELOPMENTS AT MEETING

The positive developments of the sessions of the Actions Committee were:

1. The session approved a budget of $1,650,000, the largest budget for Palestine work yet adopted.

2. Definite indications were made about the possibility of opening Transjordan to Jews in the very near future.

3. The project to support a movement in favor of converting Palestine into a crown colony was rejected.

The central point of interest at the session of the Actions Committee was the question of whether or not an understanding can be reached with the Revisionists. Such an understanding was not reached. Thus the Actions Committee did not achieve the main purpose for which is was convoked.