The London conference for the relief of German Jews realized the reasonable expectations of all those who attended the conference, declared Senator Alfred M. Cohen, president of the B’nai B’rith, and Dr. I. M. Rubinow, secretary of the Order, who returned Tuesday on the French liner Paris from the London conference and from a meeting of the European B’nai B’rith leaders at Amsterdam.
The conference indicated that world Jewry was united in its indignation at the outrageous treatment of the German Jews by the Nazis, Senator Cohen declared.
“It also indicated that the Jews of the world were determined to do all that was within their power to relieve the situation of the victims of the cruel injustice of the Hitler terror, both in Germany and elsewhere,” he stated.
Senator Cohen stated that the
B’nai B’rith was in full accord with the decisions of the London conference.
He declared that the only real hope for the German Jews was Palestine and denied emphatically that the immigration of the German Jews into Palestine was a problem at the present time. “Over-colonization in Palestine will not be a problem for years to come,” the B’nai B’rith leader declared.
The conference of the European B’nai B’rith leaders at Amsterdam, in which sixteen leaders of the Order participated, was described by the Senator as “eminently satisfactory.” He stated that B’nai B’rith delegates from nine European countries were present and discussed broadly B’nai B’rith and Jewish problems.
When informed by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency representative of the action of High Commissioner James G. McDonald in inviting eight Jewish representatives to participate in the governing body, Senator Cohen praised Mr. McDonald and said, “From everything that has been said I am convinced that he is approaching the delicate and responsible task that he has been entrusted with, in full appreciation of its full implications.”
“I have made this trip at a great personal sacrifice,” the B’nai B’rith leader declared, “but now that it is over, I must say that it was fully justified and I am very glad that I made the trip.”
The Senator, who spoke for the entire American delegation at the closing open session of the London conference, stated that he saw no alleviation in the lot of the Jews who remained in Germany. On the contrary, he said, the position of the German Jews grew progressively worse with time. He praised France for its treatment of the German-Jewish refugees.
Dr. Rubinow declared that what impressed him most at the London conference was the consideration given by the conference to sound social service principles. The conference realized, said Dr. Rubinow, that mere relief was not enough and that true constructive relief for the German Jews was essential.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
