(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)
The right of a Polish citizen to cast his vote for any political party he chooses was questioned by the authorities when the Governor of the Lodz district called on the Alexanderer Rebbe, a Chassidic rabbi with many followers in the Lodz region, to ask whether it was true that he advises his followers to cast their votes at the forthcoming parliamentary elections in favor of the bloc of national minorities recently formed.
The Governor of the district told the Rabbi that such an attitude on his part would be considered “a move against the state.” In reply to this interrogation the Rabbi declared that his interest does not lie in politics.
The large Chassidic mass in the Republic of Poland is divided in its political views in accordance with the policies shaped by their respective leaders. The rabbi of Gora Kalwarjia, having the largest number of followers is identified with the policy of the Agudath Israel which remained outside the bloc of national minorities. The Agudah. it was stated, is now seeking an alliance with the Volkist party and other minor groups of merchants and artisans. The other Chassidie rabbis are not affiliated with the Agudah and their vote is expected to swell the vote of the bloc.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
