Wise Sails for Geneva; Says Congress Will Be Convened Despite Opposition

Dr. Stephen S. Wise, honorary president of the American Jewish Congress sailed Friday night for Europe to attend the world Jewish conference in Geneva, scheduled for August 14th, which is to discuss the advisability and feasibility of constituting a world Jewish Congress.

Dr. Wise is accompanied by Mrs. Wise, who is the Chairman of the Women’s Committee of the American Jewish Congress.

In a statement issued through the Jewish Telegraphic Agency prior to his departure, Dr. Wise delivered a parting broadside against the opponents of the conference and the Congress idea.

Emphasizing that the conference is convened for the purpose of discussion and that there will be no suggestion of haste in summoning a world Jewish congress, Dr. Wise asserted that “the convening of the World Jewish Congress will not be postponed by reason of the timidities of those who are dominated by their fears in respect to Jewish affairs. Nor can the Congress be indefinitely postponed pending the adherence of certain Jewish groups in this and other lands, which find it unpalatable to meet and take counsel with simple and humble Jewish folk of East European lands.”

A World Jewish Congress, which he approves, must, Dr. Wise declared, effectively appeal to the judgment and conscience of the Christian nations and in addition to safeguarding the security of the Jews, must arouse in the Jew a deeper and finer effort in behalf of the Jewish cause.

One hundred delegates, representing twenty one countries, will attend the conference, according to Dr. Wise.

Dr. Wise’s statement in its full text asserts:

“The Geneva World Jewish Conference will, I rejoice to state, be attended by not less than one hundred delegates, including the American deputation. Most important of all, twenty-one countries will be represented at the Conference. The Jewish population of these lands, including our own, is between eleven and twelve millions, or two-thirds of the world’s Jewish population.

“Apart from the Zionist Congresses for more than a generation and latterly the Jewish Agency for Palestine, there is nothing novel or startling in a World Jewish Conference. World conferences and congresses have become almost commonplace phenomena and the incredible thing is that a world people such as Israel should fail to meet regularly and frequently in order to consider its affairs. Seeing that Jews are become free, they can no longer refrain from gathering publicly and openly from discussing their affairs, if they are to preserve their self-respect and to hold the respect of mankind. That the initiative in convening the World Jewish Conference has been taken by American Jewry through the American Jewish Congress is not to be wondered at, for such initiative could hardly come from any one of the countries grievously affected by that anti-Jewish feeling commonly though erroneously known as anti-Semitism.

“The World Jewish Conference, which the American Jewish Congress has been instrumental in arranging, signifies that we believe we ought to seek out our brothers in other lands for purposes of conference and consultation and that we are resolved to secure direct evidence rather than be satisfied with hearsay or second-hand evidence concerning Jewish conditions in all lands. Thus at the Conference we shall learn directly and at first-hand about the economic and political status of the Jew, with special reference to such problems as Migration and Minority Rights under the League of Nations Treaties.

“The Conference, it must frankly be stated, is not an end per se, but a means to a World Jewish Congress. The need and desirability of calling a World Jewish Congress will be considered at Geneva with utmost care and the deliberation of open-mindeness. If a World Jewish Congress ultimately be convened, every effort will be made to secure the adherence of the democratically chosen representatives of the Jewries of the world. There will be no suggestion of haste in summoning the Congress. But on the other hand, it is equally safe to say that the convening of the World Jewish Congress will not be postponed by reason of the timidities of those who are dominated by their fears in respect to Jewish affairs. Nor can the Congress be indefinitely postponed pending the adherence of certain Jewish groups in this and other lands, which find it unpalatable to meet and take counsel with simple and humble Jewish folk of East European lands.

“Personally, I shall favor the calling of a World Jewish Congress, if the delegates including the American are convinced that such a Congress may through common counsel touching our common cause lighten the burdens of our oppressed people. A Congress convened understandingly and dealing frankly and fearlessly with the problems of the Jew may and ought to do two things: 1. Appeal effectively to the judgment of mankind and most especially to the conscience of the Christian nations; 2. Over and above safeguarding the security of the Jewish people wherever they dwell, a World Jewish Congress should arouse the Jew to deeper, finer effort on behalf of the Jewish cause, its hopes, its purposes, its ideals.”

Joseph Spear, for forty years a member of the Los Angeles Lodge No. 42 of the Masons, died at the age of seventy-two.