Neville Laski, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, warned the board today that efforts might be made, using anti-Semitism as a weapon, to revive British sympathy for Germany, shaken by Hitler’s coup in Austria.
“Unless the situation is more critical, there will be renewed efforts to revive somewhat the shaken faith of pro-Nazi sympathizers in England,” Mr. Laski said. “Every effort will be made to persuade the British people that the Jews are using their influence in the direction of war.”
Reporting on the work of the Joint Foreign Committee, which represents both the board and the Anglo-Jewish Association, Mr. Laski asserted that “ceaseless and pernicious anti-Jewish propaganda of a subtle character is going on in England, not only in the realm of foreign, but domestic politics.” Anti-Semitism is but one of the weapons used to create sympathy for the Nazi regime, he added.
The Austro-German Anschluss has faced British Jewish communal leaders not only with the problem of additional refugees, but with the question of help to the Austrian Jews, Mr. Laski said, adding that “any further steps that may appear to be of use will be taken.”
He reported that the Joint Foreign Committee had several times urged the British Government to make representations to Berlin calling attention to the deep anxiety felt by the Jewish community of Britain regarding the treatment of their co-religionsts in Austria.
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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.
