Efforts Continue to Heal Breach in General Zionist Movement; Seating of Israeli Issue

Efforts were being continued today to heal a split which developed last Thursday in the ranks of the Confederation of General Zionists between the “deviationists,” led by Drs. Abba Hillel Silver and Emanuel Neumann and Benjamin Browdy, and the “loyalists,” headed by Dr. Israel Goldstein.

A suggestion that a new “conciliation commission” be appointed to consider means of reuniting the Confederation was made by the “deviationists” because they claimed that the members of the Commission which tried unsuccessfully last Friday to make peace were too “embittered” at each other to reach a solution. The “loyalist” faction claimed the adherence of 75 delegates. The “deviationists” said they had 51 delegates, without the Israeli General Zionist delegation, for whom they demanded 60 seats.

The clash broke out Thursday when Dr. Goldstein adjourned a session of the Confederation’s world conference in order to give further time to the special commission charged with studying the issue of granting representation to the Israeli General Zionists, a Confederation rule requires delegates to its conference to be delegates to the World Zionist Congress, The Israeli General Zionists boycotted the Congress elections and as a result, have no representation there. The Congress Court is expected to be asked to grant them Congress representation. Meanwhile, the issue of seating the Israeli representatives in the Confederation conference, became a major issue here.

When Dr. Goldstein adjourned the session, one wing alleged that he had abandoned the chair and continued the meeting under the chairmanship of Samuel Zacks of Canada, Dr. Abba Hillel Silver, Dr. Emanuel Neumann and Benjamin G. Browdy of the American delegation addressed the session which described itself as a continuation of the Confederation conference and issued a communique demanding recognition by the Zionist Congress as the real General Zionist confederation.

Dr. Goldstein issued a statement denouncing the group and charging a “deliberate plot” to prevent the orderly conduct of the conference. He declared that it was the “apparent intention” of the group to split away from the Confederation and said the Confederation would continue to have the loyal support not only of the Israeli Progressives but also of Hadassah, a section of the Zionist Organization of America and the General Zionist delegates of Britain, Canada, Australia, South Africa, India and a number of the Latin American countries, as well as from France, Italy, Austria and North Africa.

ZIONISTS HAVE RIGHT TO STATE HOW FUNDS SHOULD BE SPENT IN ISRAEL, SILVER SAYS

Today, Dr. Silver told a press conference that the Zionist Organization of America stand on the eve of the Congress is: “Either you have a Zionist movement or you do not have anything. The movement should not be by-passed–which has been the case in the past–by the Israel Government’s turning to other groups. The bond campaign, for which the Zionist movement was mobilized, should have been launched in close consultation with the Zionist organizations throughout the world.”

He added that even if a charter or legal status is granted the Zionist movement by the Israel Government, it is important to see how the charter is formulated. He emphasized that he did not wish to interfere with the Israel Government and the Parliament, but within the Jewish Agency he had a right to state how monies should be spent. “Jews are not automats which release coins upon the pressing of a button,” he declared. “Taxation must include some kind of representation.”