‘new Judaea,’ London Z. O. Executive Organ, Makes Reply to Dr. Stephen Wise

Executive Does Not Maintain England is Infallible; Right Method Must be Employed (Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

A reply to the criticism against the Zionist Executive, made by Dr. Stephen S. Wise in his address at the United Palestine Appeal Conference in Cleveland, charging it with failure to strongly present the just demands of the Zionists to the Mandatory Power, was made in the “New Judaea,” the official organ of the Zionist Executive in London.

“The problem of closer co-operation between the Jewish Agency and the Mandatory Power is a complicated one, and there are right and wrong ways of handling it.” the paper writes. “It must be regretfully confessed that the right way is not happily illustrated by Dr. Wise’s recent speech it Cleveland. Dr. Wise is a devoted Zionist, as well as a distinguished orator, but on this occasion he can hardly be said to have done himself justice, and his rather loose thetoric at Cleveland is anything but helpful.

“It is impossible to understand what Dr. Wise really means when he says that ‘we have been led to believe that there is no Jewish treason comparable to complaint against, or fault-finding with, the British Government’ Dr. Weizmann and his colleagues in the Executive have not besitated to criticize the Government when they have felt that they could legitimately do so, and the memorandum laid by Dr. Weizmann and Mr. Sokolow before the Basle Congress enumerated a long series of reforms for which, in their view, the Government could properly be pressed. No one who studies that memorandum and the accompanying draft resolutions can be under the illusion that the Executive ask the Zionist public to believe that the Mandatory Power is infallible.

“There is still less excuse for such a suggestion in the case of those who, like Dr. Wise, hold or have held responsible positions in the Zionist movement, and who, having access to the facts, must be well aware of the patient, persistent, and by no means wholly unsuccessful efforts of Dr. Weizmann and his colleagues to press upon the Mandatory Power the just demands of those for whom they speak. To suggest that, either in public or in private, the Executive, under Dr. Weizmann’s leadership, have contented themselves with a meek acquiescence in things as they are is a palpable travesty of the facts.”

Referring to the incident in the political commission at the Basle Congress, the “New Judaea” concludes: “Dr. Wise creates, unintentionally, no doubt, an entirely false impression, when he says that his withdrawal from the Congress was ‘a protest against an attempt to stifle freedom of discussion and to destroy the rights of Zionists freely to criticize the Executive and the Administration.” Dr. Wise must be well aware that no such attempt was made, either in the Commission or, for that matter, in the Congress. On the contrary, both the Executive and the Government were severely criticized on a great variety of counts, and no representative of the Executive ever suggested, or dreamed of suggesting, that such criticism was not perfectly proper and legitimate. As every member of the Political Commission, over which Dr. Wise presided, can testify; the statement that there was ‘an attempt to stifle freedom of discussion’ has not the slightest foundation in fact. It is indeed a pity that Dr. Wise, who occupies so distinguished a position in the Zionist movement, and whose services are so widely and justly esteemed, should not have thought it worth while to weigh his words a little more carefully. The personality of the speaker and the character of the occasion make it impossible to pass over Dr. Wise’s speech at Cleveland in silence, but while it contains much that we are unable to regard as timely or helpful, we are happy, nevertheless, to welcome Dr. Wises’s appeal for fair play for the new Executive and his assurances–if such were needed–of his unimpaired devotion to the Zionist cause.”

A campaign to raise $15,000,000 for six American colleges in the Near East was launched at a dinner at the Hotel Plaza. New York, Friday.

Gifts totaling $8,000,000, of which $2,000,000 was contributed in the past few days, were announced by Albert W. Staub, American director of the Near East College Association.

The institutions for which the fund is being sought are Robert College at Constantinopic, Turkey, the American University of Beirut, Syria, Constantinople Woman’s College, International College of Smyrna, Turkey, and Athens College, Athens, Greece.

At the biennial convention of the National Council of Women, held at The Waldorf-Astoria, New York, the National Council of Jewish Women was represented by five delegates, Mrs. S. J. Rosensohn of New York, Chairman of Policy Committee; Miss Sara X. Schottenfels of New York City, Mrs. Elmer Eckhouse of Newark. Chairman of the Department of Farm and Rural Work; Mrs. Estelle M. Sternberger, Executive Secretary; and Mrs. Edward Josephy, president of the New York City Section.