Weizmann Says 17th Z. O. Congress May Be Postponed

The 17th Zionist Congress, scheduled for next February, may be postponed, according to a statement made today by Dr. Chaim Weizmann, resigned president of the World Zionist Organization, reporting at a meeting of the political Commission of the Jewish Agency for Palestine.

Dr. Weizmann said that there is no useful purpose in holding the Congress in February because the negotiations between representatives of the Jewish Agency and the English government are likely to be unfinshed until April, since the Cabinet committee must submit its conclusion to the Cabinet for approval and for publication. Dr. Weizmann expressed the opinion that the actual negotiations with the Cabinet committee will be concluded by the end of February and was in general optimistic about the outcome of the negotiations.

Dr. Weizmann also reported that Arthur Henderson, Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, will have another meeting with representatives of the Jewish Agency before he proceeds to Geneva to participate in the sessions of the Council of the League of Nations, where the Palestine question is expected to come up.

It is likely that some kind of an agreement on certain points will be reached at the next meeting, before Henderson reports to the League Council. He also said that before the next meeting takes place, probably on the 9th of January, he will see Premier MacDonald regarding the Zionist problems.

The question of the coming 17th Zionist Congress was discussed Sunday at a meeting of the administrative committee of the Zionist Organization of America. The opinion of the body was evenly divided concerning the date of the Congress, half insisting that it take place in February as scheduled, the other half favoring postponement, saying that a congress in February would interfere with the Zionist activities, because the active Zionist leaders would have proceeded to the Congress.