Dr. Emanuel Neumann, honorary president of the Zionist Organization of America, and member of the Jewish Agency executive, today termed assertions by some Jewish spokesmen that “there is no Jewish vote” as “inaccurate and misleading.” He asserted that “the Jewish vote is an unorganized but potent reality,” and that “American Jews are in this respect no different from other groups of citizens making up the American electorate.”
The Zionist leader spoke at a reception tendered him by the Zionist Organization of America at the Hotel Pierre on the occasion of his recent return from plenary meetings of the Jewish Agency executive in Jerusalem, and the European Conference of General Zionists held in Antwerp, Belgium. He said:
“Recently, as in other election years, some Jewish spokesmen have announced to the world that there is no Jewish vote. It baffles me to understand why such gratuitous pronouncements are made. The Jewish vote is an unorganized but potent reality. Assertions to the contrary are inaccurate and misleading and convince nobody — least of all practical politicians and molders of public opinion.”
Dr. Neumann voiced the view that “the reactions of American Jews to specific situations and issues are influenced by their own backgrounds, traditions and sentiments,” adding that “this is both normal and legitimate in any democracy. “He stressed that no one can command or “deliver” the Jewish vote. Nor can their support of any party be taken for granted. “It must be courted and won, as is the case with other recognized groups of the American electorate,” he declared.
In his address, Dr. Neumann also dwelt on the issues that will confront the forthcoming 63rd Annual Convention of the Zionist Organization of America, to be held at the Hotel Statler on August 25-28. He maintained that “American Zionists must be vitally concerned not only with Israel, but also with the major problems of Jewish life on the American scene,” pointing out that one of such major problems which will be dealt with at the Convention will be “the establishment of a truly representative body to speak on behalf of the American Jewish community as a whole.”
“The Council of Presidents,” Dr. Neumann said, “has been a useful and successful step in that direction, though it is strictly limited in scope.” He voiced the hope that “American Jews have matured sufficiently to envisage the formation of an all-inclusive body of wider scope and on a more permanent basis.”
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