The Daily News Letter

LONDON.

The Board of Deputies of British Jews, the Anglo-Jewish representative body which so effectively represents British Jewry in domestic and foreign concerns, is now weighing an extensive reorganization program to enable it to cope more fully with the many varied problems which it is being called upon to face. The program is, briefly, creation of effective apparatus to deal with the many situations which the board, as the representative body and voice of the Jewish community, must meet in constantly increasing numbers.

British Jewry probably has a more effective voice in the affairs of world Jewry than any other community. This, without doubt, is largely due to the existence of the board the authority of which is based democratically through its system of delegates, on the assent of a very large segment of the Jewish population. If British Jewry does not speak with one voice, there is at least not the babel of voices to which other countries are accustomed.

Germany, the growing tensity of the situation in the Eastern European lands, the ever-present menace of an eruption in Rumania, have thrust heavy responsibilities upon the Board of Deputies. They have taxed its machinery for dealing with foreign affairs—the Joint Foreign Committee in which the Anglo-Jewish Association has an equal voice—to its limit. Because of the increasing pressure of these demands, the board has decided on the establishment of a foreign affairs department with a secretariat competent to treat with situations as they arise.

Under the plan of reorganization adopted in principle by the board, foreign and domestic affairs would be separated and handled by two district secretariats. In addition, a press department to combat publication of erroneous reports in the press, to refute attacks on the Jews and to furnish authentic information to those requiring it, is to be made an integral part of the board’s machinery.

A reorganization project, complete in all details, has been worked out and approved in principle by. the board. The sole obstacle to its going into effect is the cost of the proposed administration which amounts to $12,500 annually more than the board’s present income. The chief source of the board’s revenue is the assessment on congregations electing deputies to the board.

One proposal before the board is that the per capita assessments be increased to provide the necessary funds to finance the board’s large-scale activities. Some objection has been raised to this.

Another proposal which the board is weighing is a modification of the reorganization scheme combining several of the functions segregated in the original plan, and reducing the additional cost of administration to some $5,000. This deficit it is proposed to meet out of the board’s reserves for a two-year period, after which time the whole question of financing would have to be considered again.

Neville Laski, president of the board, who recently visited the United States, and Gordon Liverman, treasurer, are unreservedly in favor of the original plan. A committee is now at work seeking a solution of the financial problems connected with it.

Meanwhile, the Board of Deputies has taken an action almost unprecedented in its recent history in according its approval and support to an appeal for funds for the relief of Polish Jewry. Largely through the activities of the board, four Anglo – Jewish organizations chiefly interested in Polish relief have combined their efforts into one drive which will open March 29. Mr. Laski is expected to accept the chairmanship of the allocations committee which will have final word in disposition of the funds raised in the course of the drive. Each of the four organizations will have a representative on the committee and the board will have four.

The board’s participation is largely the result of Mr. Laski’s trip to Poland for first-hand knowledge of the situation. He reported that the misery and distress of Polish Jewry had left him “heartsick.”