British Jews Expected to Divide Votes Among Major Parties; No Evidence of Bloc Vote

British Jews who go to the polls in today’s national elections are expected to divide their votes among the major contending parties. There is no evidence of a bloc “Jewish vote” although there are 60 Jews among the 1800 candidates contesting 630 Parliamentary constituencies. Forty of the Jewish candidates are Laborites and the rest Tories, Liberals and Communists. They include prominent figures in public and Jewish life in Britain. Six Henry D’Avigdor Goldsmid, president of the Jewish Colonization Association and Michael Fidler, president of the Board of Deputies of British Jews, are standing for election under the Conservative Party banner. Jewish Laborites include Harold Lever, a member of the Cabinet; Ian Mikardo, member of the Labor Party’s national executive and Maurice Orbach, member of the Executive of the World Jewish Congress. Jack Barnett, general secretary of the British section of the World Jewish Congress is one of the Jews running on the Liberal Party slate.