General Zionists to Lose Balance of Power at Forthcoming Basle Congress

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

A strengthening of the influence of the two extreme wings in the Zionist movement, the Mizrachi Orthodox Zionist wing, and the Poale Zion and Zeri Zion, the labor wing, is indicated by the returns of Congress elections which took place in Central and East European constituencies. The returns show a general weakening of the socalled General Zionists. These results of the Congress elections which are in full swing and will be completed during the next few days, will make it impossible, it is predicted here, to carry through some of the reforms advocatd by the Zionist Organization of America.

In the resolutions adopted at the Atlantic City convention of the American Zionist Organization, it was urged that the Palestine Zionist Executive should not be composed of the various groups and wings, but that the administration of affairs in Palestine should be entrusted to an impartial Executive.

The election results are also interesting as they show the weakening of the opposition. So far only a few members of the radical and revisionist parties have been elected to the congress. The outcome of the elections are interpreted as meaning that the extremely difficult conditions in Palestine are considered by the Zionist public of such grave nature that they are not willing to listen to any opposition which would further aggravate the situation and render still more difficult the maintenance of what has been built in Palestine.

In Zionist quarters regret is expressed that the formation of a strong center bloc should have been rendered difficult. The American Zionist delegation will be the strongest single group of General Zionists. They will be reinforced by delegates from Germany and a few delegates from Poland and other countries. This condition, as indicated by the election returns, leads observers of Zionist congresses here to predict a strong battle between the Right and Left Wings, although it is added that in matters concerning the composition of the Executive and all expediency measures, the two extreme wings may be expected to unite as was the practice in previous congresses.

The present situation is a striking contrast to the beginnings of the Zionist movement when the General Zionists were in an overwhelming majority. The present situation will render it difficult for the General Zionists to hold the balance of power between the two extreme wings and will also render them powerless to prevent the extreme wings from combining, whenever they choose, with regard to questions of appropriations in the budget and representation on the Executive.

It is explained that the efforts of the Zionist Organization in the raising of funds have prevented it from taking continuous measures to strengthen the organization and engage in campaigns for membership, while the Mizrachi and Poale Zion, freed from the burden of fund raising by the joint campaign, have devoted their efforts to strengthening their ranks and building up party machines. Another reason is seen in the fact that in the early stages of the Zionist movement, the idealistic and theoretical character of the movement led to the strength of the General Zionists, while the actual work in Palestine had led to an increased power for the wings representing definite viewpoints on how Palestine should be built.