The British Government “will not hesitate to intervene” should the federal authorities in Germany fail to deal with increasing anti-Semitism there, Lord Henderson, Parliamentary Undersecratary of the British Foreign Office, declared here. He spoke at a dinner attended by 2,000 prominent persons marking the conclusion of the conference of leaders of Jewish organizations from the British Commonwealth at which various problems concerning Jewish life in Britain and in the Dominions were discussed.
Lord Henderson added, however, that he believes “a true and lasting solution of anti-Semitism in Germany can come only from the Germans themselves realizing that racial hatred can have no place in a civilized state.” He admitted that “it is almost an insuperable problem to repair the hideous wrongs perpetrated by the Nazis” but quoted the recent statement by Chancellor Konrad Adenauer to show that a majority of West Germans condemn the isolated anti-Jewish outbreaks in Germany. He emphasized that anti-Semitism has no place in the British Commonwealth.
The emergence of Israel, he continued, has in no way impaired the loyalties of British and Commonwealth Jewries to their countries of adoption. He pointed out that the close ties maintained by English Jewry with Israel constitute a strong link between the Jewish state and Britain. The British Government, he said, has displayed its friendly feelings toward Israel by granting the Jewish state first de facto and later de jure recognition, which was followed by a financial agreement and by the invitation to members of the Israel Parliament to visit England.
“Israel,” Lord Henderson declared, “has chosen the democratic way of life and many of its institutions are derived from British and Commonwealth sources. Many leading statesmen were either born within the British Commonwealth or lived there for many years.” He expressed the hope that the Israel Government will succeed in overcoming the tremendous difficulties of integrating elements of widely-differing backgrounds in culture, education and language.
Chief Rabbi Israel Brodie, who was one of the speakers at the dinner, warmly praised the generosity of the Jewish communities in the British Commonwealth and the relief aid that they have extended to Israel and Jews in other countries. “The impact of the establishment of Israel has been and will be a good thing in the Jewish communities in the Commonwealth,” he added.
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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.
