World Leadership Passes to American Jewry, View at Anglo-jewish Meeting

The passing of world leadership in Jewish affairs from the ancient Jewries of Europe to the Jewry of the United States, as the result of the development in the past forty years, was the striking note sounded at the annual meeting of the Anglo-Jewish Association which was in session here all day Sunday.

Leonard Montefiore in submitting his annual report reviewed the record of the past forty years. “Forty years ago the persecuted Jewries turned to the English and French Jews. Now they turn to America. The preponderance of Jewish affairs is likely to pass more into the hands of American Jewry. What usefulness remains, therefore, for Anglo-Jewry?” he asked, and declared in reply: “Though American Jewry grows increasingly rich and powerful, it is, nevertheless, remote and also absent from the League of Nations, while England sits in the League’s Council”

Mr. Montefiore paid a tribute to Lucien Wolf, secretary of the Joint Foreign Committee of the Anglo-Jewish Association and the Board of Jewish Deputies. Mr. Wolf, he said, might have been a wonderful foreign minister for any country.

“Forty years ago the May laws were enacted in Russia, making it impossible for the position of Russian Jewry to become worse. Roumanian Jewry was in a situation of utter hopeless-

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ness and degradation. The reports of the Anglo-Jewish Association for that period were full of unavailing protests against the outrages. Forty years,” the president declared, “brought great progress. The League of Nations has proved to be a more efficient guardian of the rights of minorities than the Berlin Congress. Turkey no longer excludes Jews from Palestine where, under the Mandate, what seemed an illusion is slowly being translated into fact.” he declared.

Haham Moses Gaster warned against an exaggerated optimism. “It is true that the position of Jewry has improved politically, but social anti-Semitism is on the increase. Ritual murder accusations are still being made and prejudices continue,” he said. The speaker urged that the Association take steps to rescue the Jews of Yemen from annihilation.

Elkan Nathan Adler addressed the meeting on the question of the Yemenite Jews. He said he had just returned from Aden where he met a number of Yemenite Jews and he could say that the persecution is not as great as is imagined. “It is true that the Jews in Yemen are not liked, but they are tolerated. The persecution in Yemen is not like that in old Italy where the children were forcibly baptised. A great wrong is now being committed in Yemen when the governors receiving Jewish orphans as wards train them in the Moslem faith. It would be a mistake to think that the persecutions are of such a terrible nature that they are likely to annihilate Yemenite Jews,” he stated.

American immigration restrictions are growing worse, not better. Otto Schiff, president of the Jews’ Shelter, reported at the annual meeting also held yesterday. He visited the United States recently and can declare that the conditions are unfortunate for prospective emigrants.

The Shelter officials met 20,000 emigrants during the year and 1,480 were accommodated at the shelter.

The radio programs of the United Synagogue of America will not be broadcast on Wednesday nights, April 24th and May 1st, 1929, owing to the Passover Holidays. Broadcasting will be resumed as usual on May 8th, 1929. Neither will the Women’s Lengue of the United Syuagogue of America broadcast its programs until May 9th.