Resolutions demanding free immigration of Jews into Palestine and other countries of the world and the protection of civil and political rights of Jews in all countries of the world were unanimously adopted today at the close of the three-day first national convention of the Jewish Labor Committee at the Capitol Hotel.
The 1,200 delegates from all parts of the United States, representing more than 500,000 organized Jewish workers, heard Senator Robert F. Wagner denounce the rising tide of anti-Semitism as an “index of the peculiarly aggressive temper of the autocratic forces that command world attention today.” He declared: “The Jews have been singled out because traditionally they have measured political greatness by ethical standards rather than by military accomplishments, because democracy and idealism are the essence of their outlook on life.”
By oppressing the Jews, Senator Wagner maintained, the “totalitarian despots” are striking at those whose contributions have always been toward ordered law and humane justice.
Other resolutions adopted by the convention called for an intensified boycott of German goods, a fight against anti-Jewish discrimination in America, support of projects for Jewish vocational retraining, including the ORT, cooperation with Jewish and non-Jewish labor movements, a $1 per capita tax to further the work of the organization, and authorizing the executive committee to unite with other organizations to combat Fascism and anti-Semitism.
In a declaration concerning Jewish life in Europe and America, the committee pledged itself to aid the Jewish masses in their struggle to remain in the countries where they now reside and to rebuild Jewish economic life in those countries where it has been menaced by Fascism.
Mayor LaGuardia yesterday stressed the necessity of preserving democracy. Opening the convention Friday evening, B. Charney Vladeck, who was re-elected chairman of the committee, declared that Jewish hopes were pinned on the final victory of the forces of democracy over the forces of reaction. He reported that the committee had raised $101,000 in the past year to aid Jews in Poland and other countries where anti-Semitism was rife. Other speakers included Abraham Cahan, editor of the Jewish Daily Forward, Domestic Relations Court Justice Jacob Panken, and Dr. Kissman, leader of the Jewish Socialists in Rumania.
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.
