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Dr. Silver Attacks Ben Gurion-biaustein Exchange of Statements on Loyalty of Jews

November 7, 1950
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An attack on the recent exchange of statements between Israel Premier David Ben Jurion and Jacob Blaustein, president of the American Jewish Committee, was made here yesterday by Dr. Abba Hillel Silver in the course of his address to the silver jubilee convention of the Seaboard Region of the Zionist Organization of America.

“Recently,” Dr. Silver said, “there took place an exchange of respective Leyalty avowals between the Prime Minister of Israel and a segmentary representative of certain American Jews quite in keeping with the loyalty inquisitions now becoming popular in our country. The one proclaimed what should be obvious to all but the most obtuse, that the state of Israel speaks only on behalf of its own citizens, and the other pontificated on what was equally obvious, that the Jews of the United States have no political attachment to any other country but the United States.

“I wonder why all this was necessary. Who questioned our loyalty, and who was appeased by this exchange of reassurances? To me the opinion of the Prime Minster was a thing of superrogation and the solicitation of it, a piece of impertinence,” Dr. Silver declared.

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