A clash between the left wing Mapam and the rightwing Revisionist delegates marked today’s session of the World Zionist Congress, which opened last night. Dr. Nahum Goldmann who presided, was forced to suspend the session after 45 minutes.
The fight occurred after the Herut-Revisionist leader, Menahem Beigin, demanded in the general debate that Israel should “liberate Gaza,” which he termed a stronghold of Arab murderers. He strongly criticized Israel’s foreign policy and said that “fatal mistakes” had been made by the Israel Government. He called for a “repulsion of the conspiracy” to sever portions of Israel territory as advocated “by Dulles and Eden.” He said that the Arabs were waiting for an opportunity to launch an attack on Israel and that Israel must, therefore, occupy the whole of Gaza area to prevent such an attack.
Jacob Chazan. Mapam leader who followed Mr. Beigin, said that he is a criminal against the Jewish people who demands war.” Whereupon the Revisionist delegates reacted violently, insisting that the Mapam speaker retract his remark. Dr. Goldmann ordered the speaker to continue with his speech but the Revisionists objected. In the course of an exchange of insults the Revisionists called the Mapam delegates “Stalinists,” and the Mapam delegates replied with shouts of “Fascists.” Dr. Goldmann there upon suspended the session, to consult with the presidium on measures to bring the Revisionists to order.
Today’s session was opened with greetings by Gershon Agron, Mayor of Jerusalem, who was introduced by Dr. Golmann. The Mayor said it was “fitting” that the Congress be held in the capital of Israel. He expressed the conviction that, with the aid of the state and of the Zionist movement, Jerusalem will be rebuilt and brought up to its projected status of a modern capital with 250,000 inhabitants within five years. He called upon the Zionist movement for advice financial aid and loans towards the realization of the Greater Jerusalem plan.
At the opening of the session, a report was presented on the distribution of seats at the Congress by national delegations. It was announced that the Congress court had considered an appeal for 11 seats by the American Liberal Zionists led by Louis Lipsky and had decided to award it three seats in addition to the four held by its adherents who are members of the Zionist Actions Committee. The Revisionists attempted to introduce a motion to disqualify the delegates from Germany, but Dr. Goldmann ruled them out of order.
The first American delegate to participate in the general debate today was Rabbi Mordecai Kirschblum, American Mizrachi leader. He said that the one aim of world Jewry today was the preservation of the State of Israel. He insisted that the Zionists “must not despair” about the U.S policy on Israel because the U.S. is “essentially a just and democratic country” and will eventually aid the Jewish State.”
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.
