Jewish Parley Opposes Calendar Reform Now Under U.N. Discussion

The representatives of 900,000 Jews living in British Commonwealth countries went on record as expressing their opposition to a proposal currently before the United Nations Economic and Social Council to reform the calendar. This was revealed here today with the release of a series of “recommendations” adopted by the delegates at the conclusion of the second Commonwealth Conference last week.

The conference explained its opposition by noting that adoption of a uniform calendar as proposed would make observance of the Jewish Sabbath practically impossible. The “recommendations” were released in that form because the delegates of major national groups in each of the Commonwealth nations do not have the power to ratify the positions taken in each case. They will now return with these “recommendations” to the individual groups which are expected to approve them.

The conference also recommended that the Board of Deputies of British Jews, together with representative Jewish bodies from the Commonwealth countries, investigate further the possibilities of prohibiting the distribution in the Commonwealth of anti-Semitic material introduced by individuals or groups which openly advertise their anti-Semitic activities.

The delegates reaffirmed their view that there should be continuous consultation, cooperation and coordination of effort among the non-governmental world Jewish organizations with consultative status at the UN. They asserted that these organizations had a duty to world Jewry to establish an effective system of consultation and coordination.

CONCERN EXPRESSED OVER POSITION OF JEWS IN RUMANIA

“Deep concern” for the “grave position” of imprisoned Jewish leaders in Rumania was also expressed and the Rumanian Government was urged to release them and to permit them to emigrate, if they chose.

The conference appealed to the British Government to make outright grants to the surviving victims of the Arab pogrom at the British colony of Aden in 1948, in which about 100 Jews were killed and considerable Jewish property was looted and destroyed. It noted that the Jewish community of Aden had not yet recovered its economic position and that making outright grants, which would in effect wipe off the books small loans advanced by the government, would assist the Jews in their economic recovery.

In a recommendation on Israel, the delegates expressed the hope that peace would soon come between Israel and the Arab states, said that with the help of the Jewish people throughout the world Israel will prosper, and pledged their support to all organizations and people working for Israel. They called for early inclusion of Israel in the sterling bloc. Also, they stressed the importance of Jewish education and a knowledge of Hebrew as a link between Jews in Israel and those in the remainder of the world.