Resolutions praising the Quakers for their aid to refugees, commending the courage and idealism of dissenting religious leaders in totalitarian states, and condemning the British White Paper on Palestine were adopted by the Rabbinical Assembly of America today at the concluding session of its 39th annual convention here.
Dr. Max Arzt of Scranton, Pa., was elected to succeed Dr. Simon Greenberg of Philadelphia as president. Other officers elected include Rabbi Leon S. Lang of Newark, vice-president and Dr. Israel M. Goldman of Providence, treasurer.
In its resolution on Palestine, the Assembly assailed the White Paper as a “direct repudiation of the Balfour Declaration, a betrayal of the pledge to the Jewish people for the establishment of a Jewish national home in Palestine and a violation of the solemn agreement entered into by the British Government with 52 nations of the world, including the United States.” The resolution expressed “horror” at the British Government’s “placing of expediency above right” and saw in the new policy “a breakdown of the entire ethical structure upon which our modern civilization has been founded.”
Declaring the policy “especially tragic and cruel” at a time when thousands of Jews were being made homeless in central and eastern Europe, the resolution reaffirmed faith in the Palestine Jews “and their determined resolve to effect cordial and harmonious relationships with their Arab neighbors despite all present efforts by external and internal forces to widen the breach between Arab and Jew.” It concluded with an appeal for continued self control, condemning acts of violence as “contrary to the teachings and practice of Judaism.”
In the resolution on dissenting religious leaders in totalitarian states, the Assembly voiced grief “for the martyrdom which our Christian brethren as well as the members of our own faith are suffering.” The resolution praised the American Friends’ Service Committee (Quakers) for helping in the work of rehabilitation of refugees and also cited as “the most significant evidence of true brotherhood in these days of rampant hate and prejudice” the committee’s publication of Refugee Facts, pamphlet giving facts on the refugee situation in this country.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
