The recent anti-Semitic outbreaks in Britain, although undoubtedly serious, were no cause for great alarm, William Frankel, London lawyer and representative of the American Jewish Committee in England, reported yesterday at a luncheon.
Mr. Frankel traced the outbreaks to postwar increase of activity by fascists, due to their release after the termination of hostilities, as well as to economic pressures and the fact that Jews represent the only minority in an otherwise very homogenous population. He said he was “not personally worried” about the attacks, which were incited mostly by hooligans, because there had been strong police action and because the attitude of the press had been extremely responsible and encouraging.
While the British Jews are largely pro-Zionist, Mr. Frankel stated, Zionism had lost support among non-Jews, due mainly to events in Palestine. He declared that there is some restraint in Britain against American Jews, because of wide publicity given the views of pro-terrorist groups and the poor press given to more responsible American Jewish groups.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.