Herzl’s Mantle Too Large for Present Leadership, Bublick Says on Return

A critical estimate of the procedure and results of the Fifteenth Zionist Congress in Basle was given by Gedaliah Bublick, editor of the Jewish Daily News, who returned on the steamer Paris.

When interviewed by the representative of the Jewish Daily Bulletin, Mr. Bublick stated that the “Fifteenth Congress had both lights and shadows.

“The main fault rested with the leadership of Zionism. It appears that the present leadership has not grown to the need of the moment. This was brought out particularly because the Congress took place in Basle where Herzl started the movement and where one could see that Herzl’s mantle is too large for the present leaders.

“The Congress suffered from too much sophistication. It seems that some of the leaders have lost their naive enthusiasm. This is a pity. It would perhaps be much better if even today, we had that youthful zeal which characterized Zionism years ago. We need more faith, rather than too much analysis; we need more belief than sophistication,” Mr. Bublick said.

Commenting on the changes determined upon at the Congress concerning the composition of the Palestine Executive. Mr. Bublick, who was a member of the Mizrachi delegation which voted against the Executive, was not enthusiastic over the triumvirate chosen. “All the changes were reduced practically to the inclusion of Mr. Sacher in the Executive. If it is true as Dr. Weizmann assures us that Mr. Sacher has a goodly measure of efficiency. Sacher is at any rate not a great leader.”

The editor of the Orthodox Jewish Daily News expressed satisfaction with the procedure followed at the Congress. “The Congress discussions.” he stated “were conducted on a high parliamentary level. The Zionist Congress grows in importance. It is a unique phenomenon in the life of the Jewish people when every two years a real gathering in the Diaspora is re-enacted, where Jewish unity is made possible, notwithstanding all the divergence of opinion,” he stated.”