Zionists Pressed by Mandates Body to Give Partition Stand by Saturday

THE ZIONIST DECISION ON THE BRITISH PLAN TO PARTITION PALESTINE MUST BE GIVEN NOT LATER, THAN SATURDAY TO THE PERMANENT MANDATES COMMISSION OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS, NOW SITTING IN GENEVA IN EXTRAORDINARY SESSION TO CONSIDER THE SCHEME.

THIS BECAME KNOWN HERE TODAY FOLLOWING A BRIEF SESSION OF THE ZIONIST GENERAL COUNCIL, ON THE EVE OF THE CONVENING OF THE TWENTIETH BIENNIAL WORLD ZIONIST CONGRESS.

OPENING AT TONHALLE HERE TOMORROW NIGHT, THE CONGRESS WILL SEAT 483 DELEGATES, OF WHICH 230 REPRESENT LABORITE GROUPS. THE DELEGATES, FOR THE MOST PART CHOSEN BY BALLOT, REPRESENT AN ESTIMATED 1,250,000 JEWS IN MORE THAN 50 COUNTRIES.

THE MANDATES COMMISSION, IT BECAME KNOWN FOLLOWING THE GENERAL COUNCIL’S MEETING, IS PRESSING DR. CHAIM WEIZMANN, PRESIDENT OF THE WORLD ZIONIST ORGANIZATION, FOR A DEFINITE STATEMENT ON THE JEWISH ATTITUDE TOWARD PARTITION. THIS STATEMENT MUST BE DELIVERED PRIVATELY BY DR. WEIZMANN BY THE END OF THE WEEK, IT WAS STATED.

TO ENABLE COMPLIANCE WITH THE MANDATES COMMISSION’S REQUEST, DR. WEIZMANN WILL ASK THE CONGRESS TO CLARIFY ITS STAND NOT LATER THAN FRIDAY. IMMEDIATELY THEREAFTER DR. WEIZMANN WILL PROCEED TO GENEVA TO REPORT TO THE LEAGUE COMMISSIONERS.

USSISHKIN NAMED CONGRESS PRESIDENT

AT THE ZIONIST COUNCIL’S SESSION, MENACHEM M. USSISHKIN, 76-YEAR-OLD ZIONIST PIONEER, WAS ELECTED PRESIDENT OF THE CONGRESS ON NOMINATION OF DR. WEIZMANN.

DR. WEIZMANN, IT WAS ANNOUNCED, WILL DELIVER HIS PRESIDENTIAL REPORT IN TWO SECTIONS. THE FIRST, ON TUESDAY EVENING, WILL DISCUSS WORLD JEWRY’S POSITION; THE SECOND, THE FOLLOWING MORNING, WILL BE DEVOTED TO THE QUESTION OF PARTITION.

ANTI-PARTITION DELEGATES TODAY MUSTERED THEIR FORCES SEEKING TO FORM A BLOC TO OPPOSE PASSAGE OF A RESOLUTION FAVORING ANY FORM OF PARTITION. A CONFERENCE OF ANTI-PARTITIONISTS MAPPED PLANS FOR THE BATTLE AGAINST THE SCHEME ON THE CONGRESS FLOOR. PARTICIPATING IN THE SESSION WERE MR. USSISHKIN, BERL KATZNELSON, PALESTINE LABOR LEADER AND EDITOR AND RABB MEIR BERLIN, WORLD LEADER OF THE MIZRACHI ORGANIZATION, RELIGIOUS ZIONIST GROUP.

A CONFERENCE OF THE MIZRACHI ORGANIZATION ADOPTED A RESOLUTION AGAINST ANY FORM OF PARTITION.

U.S.DELEGATES TO ACT AS INDIVIDUALS, NOT UNIT, ON VITAL ISSUE

A CONFERENCE OF THE 91 AMERICAN DELEGATES TO THE WORLD ZIONIST CONGRESS WAS TURNED LAST NIGHT INTO A “MINIATURE CONGRESS” AT WHICH WORLD ZIONIST LEADERS HEATEDLY DEBATED THE QUESTION OF ACCEPTING PARTITION.

THE UNITED STATES DELEGATION DECIDED TO ABANDON A RESOLUTION ADOPTED BY THE ZIONIST ORGANIZATION OF AMERICA BINDING THEM TO OPPOSE PARTITION AND WILL VOTE AT THE CONGRESS AS INDIVIDUALS, EACH REPRESENTATIVE ACCORDING TO HIS CONVICTIONS.

LED BY RABBI BARNETT R. BRICKNER, OF CLEVELAND, AND ELIHU D. STONE, OF BOSTON, A GROUP OF TWELVE DELEGATES DECLARED THEY WOULD DEFINITELY VOTE FOR ACCEPTANCE PROVIDED LARGER TERRITORY WAS SECURED FOR THE PROPOSED JEWISH STATE.

TO OBTAIN VIEWS PRO AND CON THE AMERICAN DELEGATION INVITED EXPRESSIONS OF VIEWPOINTS FROM DAVID BEN-GURION, LABORITE AND LEADING MEMBER OF THE WORLD ZIONIST EXECUTIVE, WHO FAVORS PARTITION; MR. USSISHKIN AND RABBI MEIR BERLIN, PRESIDENT OF THE MIZRACHI ORGANIZATION, WHO OPPOSE THE PLAN TO DIVIDE PALESTINE.

IN A PASSIONATE ADDRESS, MR. USSISHKIN DECLARED PARTITION WOULD SPELL CALAMITY FOR THE PALESTINE JEWISH COMMUNITY FROM EVERY ANGLE — STRATEGIC, ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL. HE APPEALED TO THE AMERICANS, THE SECOND LARGEST DELEGATION, TO VOTE AGAINST PARTITION PROPOSALS.

“CURSED WILL BE THE JEWISH HAND WHICH SIGNS PARTITION,” DECLARED THE 76-YEAR-OLD ZIONIST VETERAN.

MR. BEN-GURION SPOKE VIGOROUSLY IN FAVOR OF PARTITION AS OPPOSED TO CONTINUATION OF THE PRESENT PALESTINE MANDATE. RABBI BERLIN SUPPORTED MR. USSISHKIN, ADVISING THE AMERICANS TO JOIN THE ANTI-PARTITIONISTS AT THE CONGRESS, WHICH OPENS TUESDAY NIGHT.

COMPOSITION OF THE DELEGATES TO THE CONGRESS IS AS FOLLOWS: LABORITES, 230; GENERAL ZIONISTS, GROUP A, 120; GENERAL ZIONISTS, GROUP B, 40; MIZRACHI, 83; JEWISH STATE PARTY, 10.