Confederation of General Zionists Takes Issue with World Union

A survey of the World Confederation of General Zionist branches throughout the world was presented here today at a meeting of the Confederation’s executive by Mrs. Rose L. Halprin, co-chairman of the organization. Among those who attended the meeting were Dr. Israel Goldstein, the other co-chairman of the Confederation; Harry Cohen, chairman of the United Zichist Association of South Africa and Rhodesia; and Joseph N. Frank, national president of the Zionist Organization of Canada. A statement issued at the conclusion of the parley said:

“The World Confederation of General Zionists is gratified to note that its ranks remain loyal to the philosophy of non-identification with the political parties in Israel, and is farther pleased to record the growing adherence to this ideology and awareness in all Zionist trends–not only among its own ranks–that the continued existence in the Diaspora of Zionist parties patterned after and paralleling the political parties in Israel is not only anachronistic since the establishment of the State, but tends to hinder and obscure the objectives of the entire movement.

“The World Confederation of General Zionists states with pride that, by its implementation of the philosophy of non-identification and its sense of involvement and partnership with Israel as a whole, rather than with its political spokesmen, it has been able to demonstrate concretely–at Congress and Actions Committee sessions–the practicability and applicability of the Weizmann philosophy of non-party attachment on the local Israel scene.

“The World Confederation of General Zionists protests against and repudiates the misleading reports issued about the recent conference convoked jointly by the Neumann Confederation and the Liberal Party of Israel, wherein it is fallaciously claimed that the newly formed World Union of General Zionists speaks for two-thirds of all General Zionists, the inaccuracy of which statement can easily be shown by the facts on record: Our Confederation has 80 Congress delegates from the Diaspora, as compared with 63 Diaspora delegates for the Neumann Confederation; however, the latter also includes 24 delegates of the former General Zionist and Progressive Parties of Israel, bringing their figure to 87 which, at best, falls far short of the two-thirds they claim.

“At the last Zionist Congress our Confederation was, and it is expected that at the forthcoming Congress we will again be, the strongest and largest Diaspora Zionist grouping, representing over one-half million members.”