Polish Underground Does Not Aid Jews, Conference of Palestine Labor Party Hears

The Polish underground movement is not helping any Jews it was charged here today by a Jew who succeeded in escaping recently from occupied Poland. Addressing the opening session of the Mapai, the Jewish Labor Party of Palestine, on the situation of the Jews in Poland, he said:

“I bring you greeting s from a dead Polish Jewry. Contrary to the accepted opinion that the Polish underground movement is helping the Jews in Poland, I must declare that this is not the case. Neither the underground movement, nor the bulk of Polish workers have extended any aid to Jews or even to the Jewish underground.

BEN-GURION DEMANDS OUSTING OF OPPOSITION FROM PARTY

The major address at today’s session was delivered by David Ben-Gurion, leader of the Labor Party. He proposed that the opposition groups within the party be expelled. “In fact, they have excluded themselves from the ranks of our party by holding separate conferences,” he argued. He proposed that the Labor Party take the initiative in calling a conference of members of the Jewish Federation of Labor (Histadruth) who are not affiliated with any political party.

Addressing a pre-conference meeting, last night, Ben-Gurion estimated that “almost a third of all Jewish workers in Palestine – about 48,000 – are not members of the Histadruth. He suggested that the labor movement in Palestine be reorganized by establishing separate trade unions, in order that every worker may be able to affiliate with unions covering his profession exclusively. The role of the Histadruth, he urged, should be limited chiefly to educational and cultural work. “One of the most important tasks of the Histadruth is to organize all workers, without any difference as to party affiliations, in support of the supreme effort of the Jewish nation for the establishment of a Jewish Commonwealth,” he said.

DIVERGENT GROUPS IN LABOR PARTY CLARIFY THEIR STAND

Leaders of the divergent groups within the Labor Party today clarified their attitude for interested Jewish organizations in the United States, in reply to a cable addressed to them from New York by Israel Mereminsky, special representative of the Histadruth in America. Two statements, one by David Remez, secretary of the Histadruth and the other by the leader of the opposition, Aron Zisling, were issued to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency for publication.

Speaking for the present administration, Remez said: “A summary of our negotiations with the opposition has been published in the Hebrew daily newspaper “Davar” and a more lengthy report was made public in our official organ “Hapoel Hatzair.” It is from these reports that interested persons can learn how far we went in our endeavor to preserve the full strength of our party, and to secure creation of a large union embracing the Hashomer Hatzair and the Poale Zion groups. I wonder whether any reasonable solution is left which was not proposed during the negotiations. The party has proven its fervent desire for a large union. This union will not come by impoverishing the party, but by strengthening it. The opposition alone can solve the riddle by its stand.”

Speaking for the opposition, Zisling stated: “We shall arouse our movement (called the Achduth Avodah) which seeks a united labor front, until full union is achieved in Palestine labor’s ranks. We shall not wage any war on the basis of ideological values. We support the political resolutions of the last Histadruth Council. From the time the Biltmore Declaration was issued we demanded a political program of complete Jewish independence within a non-partitioned Palestine, supported by international responsibility and true alliance with the Arabs of Palestine. The Council’s resolutions do not present our full political conception, but our political struggle must be united, and as far as this depends on us, we shall full back these decisions.”