Z.O.A. Charges “americans United for Israel” Not Authorized by Zionist Bodies

The Zionist Organization of America, in a statement issued today by Dr. Emanuel Neumann, its president, warned American Jews not to support any new groups that were soliciting funds for Israel, and repudiated the recently-reorganized “Americans United for Israel” which, it said, has not been sanctioned or authorized by any official Zionist body.

The new group, now in formation, announced a few days ago that it was replacing “Americans for Haganah,” which had been dissolved by a decision of the American section of the Jewish Agency. The Jewish Agency, in a statement, called upon Americans “not to contribute to any campaigns under whatever name for support of military organizations in Palestine.”

The Agency’s statement emphasized “that upon the establishment of the state of Israel and the creation of a single unified defense army, no organization is authorized by the Government of Israel to solicit contributions in the United States for any independent organizations, such as the Irgun,” and also stressed that since Haganah has been merged in the official national defense army of the Jewish state, “the purposes of ‘Americans for Haganah’ have been fully served, and the organization accordingly will promptly suspend its activities.

In support of the Jewish Agency’s policy on the dissolution of all unauthorized groups, the Z.0.A. said in its own statement that at the concluding sessions of its 51st annual convention in “Pittsburgh, the more then two thousand delegates unanimously went on record requesting all Jews in America not to support unauthorized groups seeking financial contributions for Israel, outside of the United Jewish Appeal, without official approval.

The ZOA statement charged that the latest organized group by its admission and in statements published in the American press, “is merely a device to circumvent the recent request of the American section of the Jewish Agency which called upon ‘Americans for Haganah’ to discontinue its activities and dissolve its organization in view of the establishment of the Jewish Army which supplants Haganah.” Pointing out that ‘Americans for Haganah’ at that time indicated its willingness to comply by October 1, the new group’s, formation was regarded as “an indication that this compliance was only technical and that they intend to continue their unauthorized activities simply in reorganized form and under the guise of a new name.”

SAYS NEW GROUP WILL SOW CONFUSION AND DISCORD

The ZOA statement sharply denounced the plans of the new group which, according to its press release, is to embrace also “public relations, publications, collections of materials, speakers’ bureau, films and other activities.” Declaring that this completely unauthorized activity can serve only to sow confusion or discord through over-lapping and duplication of the highly effective support to Israel now being rendered by the official Zionist bodies in the United States, the statement continues:

“Such a proposed program brands the new organization not only as a reincarnation of the dissolved group, Americana for Haganah,’ but as a hurtful attempt to set up a new political body which has not been authorized or approved by official Zionist bodice; such a group will serve to harm the concerted efforts of the existing Zionist bodies, as well as the United Jewish Appeal in its efforts to mobilize the maximum support for the economic reconstruction of the Republics of Israel.”