With only one dissenting vote, the Council of the Anglo-Jewish Association at its meeting Sunday decided to participate in the extended Jewish Agency for Palestine. Four delegates to the forthcoming Jewish Agency conference which will be held at the Scala Theatre on April 21st, were elected. They are Sir Matthew Nathan, Sir Meyer Spielman, Harry Lewis and Elkan Adler.
Leonard Montefiore, president of the Anglo-Jewish Association, declined to serve as a delegate, stating that he cannot undertake new responsibilities. If the Council thinks the president should be a delegate, he is ready to resign, he declared.
Palestine has numerous advantages and enjoys the affection of many people who would otherwise depart from Judaism, Mr. Montefiore declared. He agrees the Association should not stand aside, but asks the Council to realize that-non-Zionists are invited to participate in the Agency not for their sympathy or possible political influence, but in order to extend the field of collection for various Zionist funds. Mr. Montefiore said that a member of the Association who would be elected to the Jewish Agency would be expected to help in the collection of funds for the Keren Hayesod.
The only dissenter when the votes was taken on the Association’s participation in the Jewish Agency, was Dr. Moses Gaster, head of the Spanish and Portuguese congregations. Dr. Gaster declared that Zionism sacrifices the idea of a rebuilt Jewish national home for the sake of the Jewish Agency. Without minimizing the good will of the non-Zionist philanthropists, Dr. Gaster asked why they are not doing the same as Edmund de Rothschild, and let Zionism go its way.
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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.
