The serious economic distress among the Jewish population of Poland is beginning to attract the attention of Polish public opinion, and some of the Polish papers are now openly admitting that “the Ghetto is starving”.
The Institute for Research into the Nationalities Problem in Poland, which is a private institution enjoying the favour and support of the Government, has taken up the matter and on its initiative a joint discussion between Polish and Jewish representatives has been held here to consider what can be done to alleviate the situation. The meeting was confidential and no communication has been issued to the press or otherwise.
Chief Rabbi Professor Schorr, ex-Senator Raphael Szere-szewski, ex-Deputy Dr.Silberschin, Deputy Wislicki, M. Osmolowski, ex-Commissar of the Eastern Districts, M. Wasilewski, ex-Under-Secretary of State, M. Starzynski, ex-Vice-Minister of Finance, the chief protagonist of etatism, who resigned a few weeks ago , and M. Holowka, the President of the pro-Government Party, the J.T.A. learns from a reliable source, were among those attending the Conference.
Ex-Deputy Silberschein and ex-Senator Szereszewski told the conveners that they wanted to know at the outset for what purpose the Conference had been called , and insisted that if anything was to be accomplished they must draw up a plan which would provide a concrete solution of the problem, and not indulge in theoretic discussions which would not lead to anything. They did not want the Conference to be merely of a propaganda purpose, they said. They also wanted to know whether the Conference was merely of a private character, or whether its decisions would be binding in any way upon Government circles.
M. Holowka, the President of the pro-Government Party, and others replied that the conveners of the Conference wanted to settle definite matters. Our decisions, they said, will be of a decisive character, and therefore we propose the election of an Executive Committee.
On the proposal of the Jewish representatives, however, it was decided to adjourn the meeting till the end of May, and the next meeting, the J.T.A. learns, will see an important change in the Jewish representation.
The Jewish Club of Deputies is incensed because it was not invited to send representatives to the Conference, and suspects that its chief purpose is to organise a reception committee for the delegation coming to Poland on behalf of the Jewish-Polish Goodwill Committee in New York.
A Goodwill Committee is a good thing, the Polish-language Jewish daily “Nasz Przeglad” writes, but we cannot understand why instead of building a road from Warsaw to New York, people are obstinately trying to do it the wrong way about, trying to build a road from New York to Warsaw. Any attempt to form a fictitious Committee over the heads of the legitimate Jewish representatives, it adds, must end in creating an international scandal.
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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.
