News Brief

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency Mail Service)

Meetings in protest against the numerus clausus were held during this week in Tunis and all the large towns of the Regency, culminating yesterday in a large public meeting in Tunis City, attended by over 5,000 Jews, Arabs, Italians and French.

M. Durel, socialist leader; M. Paul Laffitte, editor of the local daily “Le Petit Matin”, and M. Luciani, President of the Federation des Fonctionnaires, addressed the meeting. A petition signed by thousands of inhabitants of all races and creeds will be forwarded to the League of Nations.

Fear on the part of some of the members of the Assembly Judiciary Committee that the bill to incorporate the Frederick L. Lavenburg Foundation may give too broad powers to the proposed corporation resulted in postponement of action on the measure for a week. Arthur S. Somers, member of the New York Board of Education, who would be a member of the board of trustees of the foundation, will be present next week further to explain the purpose of the legislation.

The purpose of the foundation is to build model tenements on the lower East Side of New York. The apartments would be rented at such a figure that no profit would be made, or if any profit were forthcoming, it would be applied to reducing rents.

Minority leader Bernard Downing of the Senate, appeared to urge favorable action on the measure, which has already passed the Senate. Edmund B. Jenks, Republican, of Broome, chairman of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, expressed the fear that the incorporation at contemplated might give too much power to the trustees.

A revolt of the members of the local furriers’ unions against the leadership of the Communists controlling the Joint Board of the Fur Workers’ Union and their conduct of the last strike began Wednesday night at a meeting in Cooper Union. Resolutions were adopted pledging the anti-Communist members to any means that the American Federation of Labor and the International Fur Workers’ Union may find expedient.

On learning of the plans for the meeting of protest the Communist leaders tried to rally their supporters to the meeting and seize control. Ben Gold, Communist manager of the Joint Board, who was denounced at the meeting, led a parade of his followers numbering nearly one thousand, but the police prevented them from entering the hall.

An effort was made to disrupt the meeting soon after it began, and about seventy-five left out of 1,000 in the hall. Men known to be left-wing and Communist adherents were excluded.

A testimonial dinner to Dr. Israel Konovitz, president of the Hebrew Principals’ Association of New York, was given Saturday night, on the eve of his departure for Palestine to study the educational situation there.

Among those who paid tribute to Dr. Konovitz were Bernard Semel, Secretary of the Jewish Educational Association, who presided; Dr. M. Soltes, Dr. S. Benderly, A. Krumbein, and Dr. I. B. Berkson.