American Jewish Congress Cooperates with Joint Foreign Committee of London

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

Questions affecting the political status of several Jewish communities in European countries and steps taken in the international arena by the Anglo-Jewish Joint Foreign Committee were discussed Sunday at the monthly meeting of the Board of Jewish Deputies.

Lucien Wolf, secretary of the committee, expressed satisfaction in his address at the beginning of a closer cooperation between the Joint Foreign Committee and the American Jewish Congress concerning the protection of the rights of European Jews. A special official was appointed in the minorities section of the League of Nations to study the situation and collect data on the condition of the Jewish minorities in all European countries, Mr. Wolf reported.

In view of the election of three new states, having a population of national minorities, to the League Council, a memorandum has been addressed by the Joint Foreign Committee to the Secretaary General of the League of Nations suggesting that no states be recognized as eligible for election to the Council if they default their treaty obligations, he reported.

On the question of citizenship and nationality, which is a source of trouble to many Jews in East European countries, Mr. Wolf reported that he had associated himself with the petition of the committee of the International Red Cross, submitted to the Council of the League of Nations, asking that the League examine cases of treaty breaches which caused many cases of denationalization. Statistics received in London show that the Roumanian authorities in Bukowina denied national status to 15,000 Jews who are entitled to Roumanian citizenship under the treaty obligations of Roumania.

Mr. Wolf also addressed the International Conference on Migrants and Refugees to appoint committees to study the question of nationality, especially its relation to the emigration and passport questions.

Concerning the grievances of the Jewish population in Poland and Roumania, the matter was taken up by Mr. Wolf in direct negotiations with the foreign ministers of the respective countries. Mr. August Zaleski, Polish Foreign Minister, promised Mr. Wolf to remedy the grievances in the matter of the national status of the inhabitants of the Polish border provinces, to issue proper passports to Jewish emigrants and to withdraw the unofficial numerus clausus ordinance. The long standing Jewish grievance in Roumania concerning the nationality law was taken up by Mr. Wolf with Ministers Titulesco and Mitilineu, who agreed to settle on bona fide Jewish grievances. A plan on this matter is to be communicated to the Joint Foreign Committee by November 15, Mr. Wolf stated.

FUR INDUSTRY CHARITY CHEST HEAD BACK IN U.S.

Alexander A. Bernstein, prominent New York fur merchant and chairman of the Distribution Committee of the industry’s charity chest, returned on the Leviathan yesterday from a trip abroad.

Mr. Bernstein was one of the founders of the fur industry charity chest, a novel philanthropic endeavor which, since its inception, has been used as a model for organized charity in other industries, including that of the film industry of Hollywood, Cal. The charity chest of the fur industry raised during last year $750,000 which was distributed under the direction of Mr. Bernstein.