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American Delegates to Zionist Congress Do Not Represent American Zionism New York Yiddish Dailies Co

June 3, 1931
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The list of American delegates to the Zionist Congress is not representative of American Zionism, the New York Yiddish dailies, “Morning Journal” and “Day”, complain in editorial articles to-day.

Most of the American delegates are anti-Weizmannist, the “Day” says, which is contrary to the views of the rank and file of American Zionism. The small group which is now administering the Zionist Organisation of America, it says further, chose its own people, elected itself, and tramples upon the feelings and convictions of the Zionist masses.

The list of the American delegates to the Congress certainly cannot be regarded as really representative of the American Zionist masses, the “Morning Journal” writes. The fact remains, it says, that no one chose them, except the minyan of people who in turn selected the 20 delegates and 20 alternatives. The Administration of the Zionist Organisation of America exploited the privilege which the Congress election regulations give in cases of agreement for presenting a unified list. We think that the whole problem of the Congress election regulations ought to be revised.

The following are the names of the 20 General Zionist delegates from America selected under the arrangement (reported in the J.T.A. Bulletin of May 27th.), by which a contest is avoided, and of the 38 seats to which America is entitled 20 are allocated to the General Zionists, 8 to the Mizrachists, 5 to the Poale Zionists, 3 to the Zeire Zionists and 2 to the Revisionists;

Judge Julian W. Mack, Mr. Louis Lipsky, Mr. Robert Szold, Rabbi Dr. Stephen S. Wise, Mr. Perl Franklin, Mr. Morris Rothenberg, Mr. Israel Brodie, Mr. Jacob de Haas, Mrs. David Greenberg, Mr. Ab. Goldberg, Judge William M. Lewis, Mrs. Schulsinger, Mr. Emanuel Neumann, Mr. Abraham Tulin, Mrs. William M. Lewis, Mrs. Archibald Silverman, Mrs. Nathan Rome, Mr. Jacob Fischman (editor of the “Jewish Morning Journal”), Mr. David Podolsky and Mr. Elihu D. Stone.

At the time of the elections to the last Congress in 1929, the Mack group, which has since secured control of the American Zionist Organisation, contested the results of the American elections, which gave 20 seats to the General Zionists, ten to the Mizrachi, seven to the Poale Zion, four to the Zeire Zion and the Hitachduth, and only one to the Mack group. Mr. Jacob de Haas, one of the leaders of the group went to the Congress and lodged a formal protest which was rejected by the Congress Court, however, on the ground that it had been presented too late.

At the 1927 Congress at Basle, the Opposition lodged a protest with the Congress Court against the American delegation on the ground that it was not an elected body. The 64 American delegates, it was complained, were not elected by the Shokel payers of America, but were appointed in an unrepresentative manner. The Congress Court decided, however, against the protest of the Opposition, and confirmed the American representation.

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