The conference of world Jewish leaders now in session in Geneva, Switzerland, was under fire here yesterday as not being a truly representative world Jewish gathering and particularly as not being indicative of American Jewish opinion.
A statement denying the all-inclusive character of the Geneva conference and pointing out that the American Jewish Committee and other major Jewish world organizations are not taking part in and have refused to endorse the conference was issued by Morris Waldman, secretary of the organization. Mr. Waldman asked that the committee’s stand be made clear in fairness “to over 4,000,000 Jews in America.”
At the same time Senator Alfred M. Cohen, international president of the B’nai B’rith, declared in a telegram to the Jewish Daily Bulletin that “the B’nai B’rith is not represented at the conference now being held in Geneva and will not pass judgment upon the proposals of the conference until it has an authentic report of the proceedings.”
Mr. Waldman’s statement follows:
“In the interest of accuracy and in fairness to over 4,000,000 Jews in America, we call your attention to the following: In view of the erroneous headlines and statements contained in some press reports of a conference of Jews now being held in Geneva, attention is drawn to the fact that the American Jewish Committee, which is made up of representatives in every important city in the United States, has not endorsed and is not participating in the World Conference, and that important organizations abroad, among them the Board of Jewish Deputies of England and the Alliance Israelite Universelle of France, have advised against the holding of such a conference and have declined to send delegates to represent them.
“In the light of these facts, the conference cannot be truthfully described as representative of the opinion of the Jews of the world, or as expressing the viewpoint of the Jewish citizens of the United States.”
Attending the conference are Mayor Meir Dizengoff of Tel Aviv, Meyer Ebner, Isaac Gruenbaum, Isaac Kreinin, Elijah Mazur, Ben-Zion Mossinson, Rabbi M. Nurok, Chief Rabbi Angelo Sacerdoti of Italy, Robert Stricker, Henryk Rosmarin, Deputy M. Wiscliki, Emil Margulies and Andre Spire, noted French Jewish writer.
The officers of the American Jewish Committee are: Dr. Cyrus Adler, president; Judge Irving Lehman and Louis E. Kirstein, vice-presidents; Judge Abram I. Elkus, honorable vice-president; Samuel D. Leidesdorf, Treasurer, and Morris D. Waldman, secretary.
Other members of the executive committee are: James H. Becker, James Davis and Albert D. Lasker of Chicago; Fred M. Butzel of Detroit; Lessing J. Rosenwald, Judge Horace Stern and Morris Wolf of Philadelphia Judge Eli Frank of Baltimore; Harold Hirsch of Atlanta, Ga.; former Ambassador A. C. Ratshesky and Professor Milton J. Rosenau of Boston; Fred Lazarus Jr. of Columbus, Ohio; Julius L. Meier, governor of Oregon; Ralph J. Schwarz of New Orleans, and David M. Bressler, Henry Ittleson, James Marshall, Judge Joseph M. Proskauer, James N. Rosenberg, Judge Samuel I. Rosenman, Roger W. Straus, Lewis L. Strauss and Felix M. Warburg of New York City.
Sol M. Stroock of New York City is chairman of the executive committee.
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.
