Lipsky Opposed to Immediate Conclave of World Congress

Louis Lipsky, chairman of the American Palestine Campaign, opposes the immediate convocation of a Jewish World Congress and advises leaders of the American Jewish Congress to “hold action in abeyance with regards to the date of elections, or the date of convening of the Congress until the idea has penetrated more deeply into the minds of the leaders of American Jewry, until the situation is clearer and the purpose of the Congress may be expressed in more defonite terms.”

In a statement made public yes “it would be fatal to the success of the World Jewish Congress to proceed upon the foundations that have been laid to date. The idea has not been worked out. The propaganda has been inadequate. Reasonable efforts have not been made to win the consent and approval of those who seem to have objections to the enterprise.”

TERRIBLE CONDITIONS

“It will be generally agreed that the terrible conditions of Jewish life require not merely a forum for the discussion of the Jewish problem, but an international organization equippet with power, protected by discipline and loyalty in order that all our resources, both spiritual and material, may be placed in the service of the Jewish nationality, now facing unparalleled conditions of disorganization and distress. It is important, however, to consider with great care how such an international organization is to be created.

“Those who believe in a World Jewish Congress regard it as a necessary step in the direction of organizing a permanent international body which is to represent and speak for the whole Jewish people; which shall have authority to guide action for the protection of Jewish rights; and which shall be in an effective position to draw upon the resources of the Jewish people for the defense of Jewish interests and the reconstruction of Jewish life. The Congress is to be the public forum and the legislature of such a permanent body. This is a matter which requires constructive statesmanship. There are some things that do not lend themselves to dramatization and that must be worked out with serious thought as to how Jews are to be won and how they are to be brought together for international cooperation through the proposed international organization.

SUCCESS VITAL

“Before such as international body is convened, it is essential for its practical success, it is a duty which the promoters of the idea owe to the movement, that every reasonable effort be made to secure the cooperation and support of organized Jews, national and international, not only for participation in the Congress deliberations, but also in all the preparations that are to be made to create the permanent body. Those who are called upon to participate ought to know definitely and with-out equivocation, what is aimed at and what are the implications of such international action on the part of the Jewish people, and their views as to the method of procedure and as to the forms that are to be set up for the realization of the aim, should be given careful and earnest attention. Support cannot be secured through running roughshod over the opinions of people or of organizations who are entitled, in the setting up of what is presumed will be a democratic body, to have their views heard and debated and settied in a democratic fashion. Unanimity is not essential on all points, but a general consent is required in order that as large a body of responsible Jewish opinion as possible may be represented, first, within the World Jewish Congress, and, second, within the permanent organization that is to emerge out of the Congress.

“It is therefore disconcerting, to say the least, to find that the American Jewish Congress, taking for granted the validity of a decision of a conference held in Geneva in 1932, has come to the conclusion that, without any further delay, it is in order now to force action in advance of effective preparation by agreeing to a date for the constituent meeting of the World Jewish Congress in the summer of 1934, and by setting the date for the election of delegates. The Geneva Conference of 1932 was not a body competent to decide such matters. It was not composed of representatives authorized to summon the World Jewish Congress and to decide the date of the convening of the Congress or its program. They had no specific mandate.

SITUATION NOT CANVASSED

“They had not canvassed the situation thoroughly. The decision of the Genava Conference of 1932 is therefore open for review and reconsideration, and does not constitute legal or moral authority for the American Jewish Congress to proceed in so important a matter. These decisions of the American Jewish Congress, made in advance of a thorogh canvass of organized Jewish public opinion, marching ahead of events, with-out an earnest attempt to lay the foundations for the World Jewish Congress by drawing in all possible forces in support of the movement, will, in effect, mean the sacrifice of the interests of the permanent organization for the sake of the easier and the ordinary task of convening a congress or conference for discussion. It will mean practically that all the activity of elections and all the controversies arising out of the incident will resolve itself into just another international conference. It is a pity that those who are interested in promoting the idea do not seem to understand that what is proposed to be done is to build up an international Jewish organization and not merely convene a congress.

INVITATION EXTENDED

“It is said that an attempt has been made to present the issue to representative Jewish bodies in America, and that they have been invited to participated. I am told that public notice has been given to representative Jewish bodies to participate in a meeting of the National Executive Committee of the American Jewish Congress. No formal attempt has really been made to elicit an official statement from these into with these bodies as to the content and form of the proposed World Jewish Congress. A general invitation to attend a public meeting of one of the legislative bodies of the American Jewish Congress cannot be regarded as a serious effort on the part of the American Jewish Congress to enter into reasonable discussions with the bodies referred to. There are many prejudices to be removed. There are many explanations to be offered. There are possibly new ways that may be suggested as to how to achieve the desired object. The method of approach and the tone of the approach is of the utmost importance. Whatever we may think of the views entertained by the organizations above referred to, they are entitled, under the rules of democracy to be called into consultation not at a prepared meeting at which negotiation is almost impossible, and not with regard to decisions already fixed, but at some joint meeting in which the parties are free to express their views with regard not only to the ultimate aim, but also with regard to the preliminary steps taken to achieve that aim.

“It is said that quite a good deal of space has been occupied in the press with regard to a World Jewish Congress. What has occupied the press on this subject is the publicity loud and excited that goes with the enterprise. It has been taken for granted that all those who may be sympathetic to the creation of a World Jewish Congress are by implication also sympathetic to the ways and means adopted for bringing it into existence. It has been taken for granted that the reading of news about a World Jewish Congress involves an understanding of the purposes of the congress. I venture to say that, although many Jews have a vague idea of the meaning of a World Jewish Congress, very few of them have yet been adequately informed, through propaganda and through regional conferences, through discussions with leading representative men of the program and implications of the World Jewish Congress and of the responsibilities that may arise out of the creation of the proposed permanent international organization.

“In other words, it is not unfair to say that the necessary foundations have not yet been laid for a strong, conscious, moral and financial support of the permanent international organization that is to be created by the World Jewish Congress. Summoning the congress befor authority and sanction has been created is bound to result in invalidating the ideal represented by the movement, and will prejudice all future efforts that may be made in its behalf. By its very nature, such an organization cannot be but together in hast, nor can it be created with out careful consideration of all the steps that are taken in order that organized Jewry, once committed to the proposal, may stand strongly behind it. The promoters of the idea cannot run ahead of the constituency, expecting the constituency to catch up with them. Once the constituency is left behind, in ignorance and confusion, under the impress of excited slogans, not understanding exactly what they are in for, they will remain back-ward for all time and will never be integrated effectively in the fixed structure which has been created for them without their conscious participation and cooperation. The World Jewish Congress and the permanent international Jewish organization represent a revolutionary idea in Jewish life; it must be built up with patience and forethought, step by step; Jewry must be won, in a real sense, to an allegiance to all that such an organization signifies in the development of Jewish life.

“In my judgment, it would be fatal to the success of the World Jewish Congress to proceed upon the foundations that have been laid to this date. The idea has not been worked out. The propaganda has been inadequate. Reasonable efforts have not been made to win the consent and approval of those who seem to have objections to the enterprise. More labor and devotion must be put into the task before such definite steps as fixing the date and the method of election are taken. It would be much better for the leaders of the American Jewish Congress to hold action in abeyance with regard to the date of elections, or the date of the convening of the congress, until the idea has penetrated more deeply into the minds of the leaders of American Jewry, until the situation is clearer and the purpose of the congress may be expressed in more definite terms.”