Azf Leader Accuses Revisionists of Violating ‘zionist Discipline’

Rabbi Israel Miller, president of the American Zionist Federation, has accused the United Zionists-Revisionists of America of violating “Zionist discipline” and the decisions of the Congress Tribunal in Jerusalem. The charge was contained in Rabbi Miller’s response to the Revisionists’ announcement last week that they would boycott the election of delegates to the 28th World Zionist Congress. The elections are currently being conducted by mail ballot. The Congress is scheduled to open in Jerusalem Jan. 17.

Rabbi Miller declared that “Every organization retains the right to appeal to the Tribunal again on the issues raised by the Revisionists or on any other issue, but the first obligation of every group was to participate in the election itself. This the Revisionists failed to do.” The Revisionists said they would not participate in the voting because the AZF allegedly was circumventing rulings by the Congress Tribunal over the distribution of 45 percent of the American seats and was not allowing full inspection of membership lists by all Zionist organizations.

Rabbi Miller, refuting this contention, declared that “Nothing in the rules adopted by the American Zionist Federation election committee has prevented any organization or slate from challenging names on the voters’ list.” He said that on the contrary, a number of parties have inspected the lists at the offices of the American Arbitration Association which is administering the elections on behalf of the AZF. The Revisionists charged that the AZF was making “a mockery of such inspection by denying the right to copy the address of any member.”