Zionist Executive in Sharp Disagreement with Political Commission on Agency Report Resolution

(Jewish Telegraphic Agency)

The crisis in the world Zionist leadership which may bring about the resignation of the Weizmann Executive came to the foreground and assumed an acute character when the Executive and the Political Commission of the General Council disagreed on the text of a resolution drafted by the Commission concerning the report and the recommendations of the Joint Palestine Survey Commission.

Unable to secure unanimity, the majority of the Political Commission formulated a resolution which would accept the Agency Commission’s report with the reservations outlined in the resolutions of the 14th and 15th Zionist Congresses.

In addition to the four reservations decided upon in these Congress resolutions, a fifth reservation is added that the freedom of colonization forms, including the communal Kvuzah system, be retained in the Palestine colonization work. The Zionist Executive, headed by Dr. Weizmann, declared its disagreement with the text of the resolution, suggesting that the resolution be couched not in the style of an ultimatum to the non-Zionists, but in the form of a suggestion.

The Political Commission of the General Council also rejected the recommendation of the Zionist Executive that the decision of the Congress limiting the formation of the extended Jewish Agency to a period of three years be revised.

No sessions of the General Council were held Wednesday evening and all day Thursday, in deference to Tisha B’Ab, the 9th day of the month Ab when the destruction of the Temple of Titus is commemorted.

The Wednesday afternoon session of the General Council was devoted entirely to a discussion of the budget for 1928-1929, submitted by the Zionist Executive. Much criticism was levelled upon the leadership for further curtailing the budget. M. Grossman, speaking in behalf of the Zionist Revisionists, took exception to the allocation of the amount of £170,000 for health work out of the sum of £300,000 proposed for the general expenditure. The Labor representatives, Sosinzak Ben Gurion and Mereminsky, declared that with such a budget it will be imposible to maintain the work in Palestine. The slogan of efficiency proclaimed by the Executive has proved to be a failure, they asserted, warning that the continued criticism of alleged inefficiency of the Laborite institutions increased the lack of confidence and destroyed the Zionist Organization.

Dr. M. Hindes. Warsaw, defended the Executive policy and expressed the opinion that the consolidation work will restore confidence in the Zionist work.

Mr. Rabalsky of Boston declared that the depression in Palestine is affecting the situation in American Zionism A decline in the United Palestine Appeal collections is noticeable since the bad news started to come from Palestine. An increase in immigration to Palestine will change the conditions, he stated.

Harry Sacher, member of the Zionist Executive in Jerusalem, severely criticised the Palestine labor leaders. He asserted that the Palestine labor leaders did not live up to their undertaking at the 15th Zionist Congress to give the new Executive a fair chance to work. Instead of cooperating with the Executive they have continually the Executive they have continually criticised it. After all it must be established that the unemployment in Palestine has been liquidated, he said. The curtailment of the budget is not the Executive’s fault. The Palestine Government has improved its attitude towards the commercial needs of the country and has been yielding to the demands of the Zionist Executive in the fiscal customs policy. The Palestine labor organization is the best organized group and its support would be valuable to the Executive, but the Executive cannot tolerate unjustifiable criticism. “If you wish to take over the Executive, we will make room for you,” Mr. Sacher declared.