Jewish Board of Deputies in London Decides on Protest Demonstration; No Date Fixed

Fearing disturbances, the Jewish Board of Deputies called out special police to assure order in the neighborhood of Bloomsbury where the Board met this morning in order to decide on their attitude to the German situation. The entrance to the meeting place of the Anglo-Jewish parliament representing the Jews of the British Empire was surrounded by anxious crowds, while a stream of private cars bearing appeals for a boycott of German goods filed slowly past.

The first part of the meeting, which was public, was attended by representatives of the whole of the general press. Strong opposition to public demonstrations was expressed by a most influential section of the Board, to the extent that the President, Neville Laski, the former president, ### Goldsmid, the president of the Anglo-Jewish Association, and Sir Leonard Cohen, president of the Jewish Colonization Association, threatened to resign if the proposal for an immediate demonstration were carried.

Nevertheless the resolution to postpone action was not accepted in its original form, and an amendment was carried calling for a demonstration but compromising on the date which was left to the discretion of the leaders of the Board. In addition it was decided by an overwhelming majority to take no action in the direction of a boycott, but declaring that since the boycott was sporadic it was to be left to individuals to act as they desired.

Although representatives of the whole of the general press attended to report the meeting, the proceedings were in camera. Neville Laski, the president, later issued a statement to the press, pointing out that Jews had no quarrel with Germany, but were concerned with the discrimination against its Jewish citizens. He declared that Jews would resist any attempt to convert the Jews of Germany into a class of helots and untouchables.

The resolution adopted declared that “the Board views with deep anxiety the events in Germany and has had under consideration what steps are most likely to prove useful for the Jews in Germany who, irrespective of political associations, have been singled out as special victims of persecution and violence. The Board believes that the freedom and justice which Germany is demanding abroad, it must concede also to its own citizens, Jewish and non-Jewish. The Board unanimously resolves to take steps to secure recognition of this viewpoint in all responsible quarters. As an expression of the profound sympathy of every Jew in England, and as a means of voicing their indignation against the persecution of the Jews of Germany, a public meeting will be held in London at the earliest appropriate date.”

The resolution generally has not met with a great deal of satisfaction, as feeling is running high, particularly in London, where young men and women are parading the streets and distributing leaflets calling for a German boycott.

An incident in the Stamford Hill district, North London, has served to focus a certain amount of attention on Sir Oswald Mosley’s Fascists, who passed through the district bearing Swastika armlets. A clash with incensed Jewish youths in the neighborhood was narrowly avoided by the arrival of the police.