An appeal to members of the Zionist Organization of American to send to the forthcoming 50th annual Z.O.A. convention “delegates uninstructed, unbound, uncommitted to any group or fraction, and unpledged to any candidate or list of officers,” was issued here today by seven former presidents of the organization.
Signed by Dr. Solomon Goldman, Edmund I. Kaufmann, Judge Louis E. Levinthal, Louis Lipsky, Morris Rothenberg, Robert Szold and Dr. Stephen S.Wise, the appeal asks that the delegates have a full and free opportunity “to elect such an administration as may best serve the interests of the Zionist movement.” It emphasizes that the convention, which is scheduled to open in New York on July 4, is meeting at a time when somentous issues involving the future of Palestine are at stake.
“During the past few years we have become increasingly concerned with the tendency in the Zionist Organization which allows one administration virtually to appoint or designate its own successors, contrary to every democratic principle; and to use the administrative machinery to that end, contrary to all principles of civil service,” the appeal says. “Unfortunately, Zionist conventions have been reduced to mass meetings and demonstrations of assent, and through controls from above have ceased to be deliberative assemblies for the determination of Zionist issues and the election of an administration truly reflecting the views of the rank and file.
“Deeply deploring this state of affairs in our movement, we former presidents of the Zionist Organization of America, belonging to no single party or group, holding different opinions on many Zionist questions, appeal to the Zionists of America to send to the convention delegates uninstructed, unbound, uncommitted to any group or faction, and unpledged to any candidate or list of officers, leaving to the delegates themselves, through their own uncontrolled committees, the full and free opportunity to elect such an administration as may best serve the interests of the Zionist movement.”
A spokesman for the ZOA administration, commenting on the appeal, said tonight that “the proper answer to this telegram will be given by the democratically constituted annual convention of our organization which will be held in New York at the beginning of next month. We are confident of its verdict.”
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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.
