Jews Will Resist Anti-jewish Demagogy, Goldmann Warns

Dr. Nahum Goldmann, acting president of the World Jewish Congress, today warned that the Jews of the world would not “countenance” any anti-Jewish policy which might emerge from the Prague trial of 14 ex-Communist and Czech Government officials on charges of treason and espionage. In behalf of the W.J.C., Dr. Goldmann declared:

“The Prague trial is a starth###gly depressing event which has aroused indignation and anxiety among the Jewish people throughout the world. The most shocking aspect of the trial is the injection of anti-Zionist and anti-Jewish incitement. It would be a grim tragedy if the trial were to establish a new pattern and policy for the governments of the Soviet bloc. Indulgence in anti-Semitism and anti-Jewish demagogy will not be countenanced by the Jewish people and will be met with determined resistance.

“The World Jewish Congress has sought for many years to retain contact with its affiliates– the Jewish communities of Eastern Europe–and it was through no fault of theirs that those communities were constrained to sever their ties with the rest of the Jewish people. It is with deep sorrow and profound indignation that the World Jewish Congress must raise its voice to protest against this trial and to serve notice on the rulers of Czechoslovakia and other Eastern European countries to desist from the road that might lead to the camp of countries notorious for their indulgence in demagogic anti-Semitism.”

Dr. Israel Goldstein, president of the American Jewish Congress, today described the Prague trial as “a calculated campaign of defamation” by the Cominform against Israel and the Jewish people. He made the statement here, where he is attending meetings of the Zionist Actions Committee, that the A.J.C. “views with the greatest apprehension this Communist revival of the evil spirit which gave birth to the forged Protocols of the Elders of Zion with all its hideous consequences.”