Anti-partitionists to Continue Fight Within Zionist Ranks; Congress Closes Sunday Night

FIGHTING MINORITY GROUPS DECLARED TODAY THEIR INTENTION OF CONTINUING THE BATTLE AGAINST THE PARTITION OF PALESTINE DESPITE THE WORLD ZIONIST CONGRESS RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING NEGOTIATIONS WITH GREAT BRITAIN ON ESTABLISHMENT OF A JEWISH STATE.

LEADERS OF MOST OF THESE FACTIONS STRESSED, HOWEVER, IN STATEMENTS ON THE FLOOR THAT THEIR CAMPAIGNS WOULD BE WAGED WITHIN THE RANKS OF THE ZIONIST ORGANIZATION, THUS MINIMIZING THE POSSIBILITY OF A BOLT.

ONLY THE JEWISH STATE PARTY, A MINUTE FACTION AT THE CONGRESS AND CONSIDERED THE MOST NATIONALISTIC OF THE PARTIES, ANNOUNCED THAT IT MIGHT BE COMPELLED TO REVISE ITS ATTITUDE TOWARD THE ZIONIST ORGANIZATION AND WOULD FIGHT PARTITION “WITHIN OR WITHOUT” THE ORGANIZATION’S RANKS. THE STATEMENT WAS BY DR. WEINSTEIN.

A NEW ISSUE–THE COMPOSITION OF THE EXECUTIVE–WAS RAISED WHEN THE MIZRACHI FACTION INDICATED IT MIGHT CHOOSE NOT TO BE REPRESENTED IN THE ZIONIST STEERING BODY WHICH WILL HOLD PARLEYS WITH BRITAIN ON PARTITION.

A MIZRACHI LEADER, RABBI HOFFMAN, TOLD THE CONGRESS, HOWEVER, THAT HIS ORGANIZATION WOULD CONTINUE THE ANTI-PARTITION FIGHT WITHIN ZIONIST RANKS. HE SAID MIZRACHI REGRETTED THE AUTHORIZING OF THE EXECUTIVE TO NEGOTIATE AND SAW THE DANGER OF AN AGREEMENT FOR PARTITION, WHICH, HE SAID, WHICH, HE SAID, WAS AGAINST JEWISH RELIGIOUS AND NATIONALIST CONVICTIONS.

DR. PRAHI, OF THE SHOMER HATZAIR (LABORITE YOUTHS), WHICH HAS BEEN FAVORING A B I-NATIONAL ARAB-JEWISH STATE, SAID THE PROSPECTS FOR ARAB-JEWISH PEACE WERE ENDANGERED BY THE RESOLUTION AND TOLD THE CONGRESS HIS GROUP WOULD CONTINUE TO FIGHT PARTITION.

IT WAS POINTED OUT THAT THE RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY A VOTE OF 300 TO 158 YESTERDAY CAREFULLY AVOIDS MENTION OF PARTITION AND ONLY EMPOWERS THE EXECUTIVE TO NEGOTIATE REGARDING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A JEWISH STATE. NOT ALL THE DELEGATES WHO VOTED FOR THE RESOLUTION FAVOR PARTITION.

HAD THE RESOLUTION OPENLY COMMITTED THE CONGRESS TO PARTITION IT WAS BELIEVED AT LEAST 60 LABORITES AND AS MANY GENERAL ZIONISTS WOULD HAVE VOTED AGAINST IT. THE COMPROMISE TEXT ENABLED DELEGATES WHO OPPOSE PARTITION, BUT WHO WERE READY TO SEND THE EXECUTIVE ON AN EXPEDITION TO EXPLORE THE POSSIBILITIES OF ESTABLISHING A JEWISH STATE, TO VOTE WITH THE MAJORITY.

THE 158 VOTES CAST FOR THE MINORITY RESOLUTION REJECTED PARTITION UNCONDITIONALLY. THE RESULTS OF THE ROLL-CALL WERE ABOUT AS ANTICIPATED.

ESTIMATED INCOME ONLY ONE-THIRD OF EXPENDITURES

RABBI MEIR BERLIN, PRESIDING, ANNOUNCED FROM THE PLATFORM TODAY THE CONGRESS WOULD CONCLUDE SUNDAY NIGHT, WITH THE NEXT PLENARY SESSION SCHEDULED FOR SATURDAY EVENING. COMMITTEES WERE ELECTED TO DISCUSS FINANCE, LABOR, COLONIZATION AND EMIGRATION.

ELIEZER KAPLAN, MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE, WHO SPOKE ON FINANCIAL PROBLEMS TODAY, POINTED OUT THE ESTIMATED INCOME FOR THE NEXT YEAR WOULD ONLY MEET ONE-THIRD OF ANTICIPATED EXPENDITURES.

HE EMPHASIZED THAT THE ECONOMIC POSITION OF THE PALESTINE JEWS WAS STRENGTHENED DESPITE LAST YEAR’S DISORDERS. “THE RIOTS OF 1936 WERE AN ATTEMPT TO PARALYZE THE YISHUS (JEWISH COMMUNITY) BUT PARALYZED ONLY THE BRITISH ADMINISTRATION,” ME SAID POINTING TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE TEL AVIV PORT AND ESTABLISHMENT OF FIFTEEN NEW AGRICULTURAL SETTLEMENTS.

ISAAC WILKANSKY SPOKE ON THE WORK OF THE REHOBOTH AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENTATION STATION AND MR. HARTZFELD ON COLONIZATION.