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Page 5 The Southern Israelite The Cleveland Pact Impressions of the Zionist Convention By JOSEPH BRAININ Zionist convention at ,/. which worked a sig- rvent in the annals of , Jewry, is being de- by numerous journalists, jmin’s impressions do not : to give a chroywlogical oj the convention, but try ,./ the changing psycho- ,it mo sphere that prevailed unity in American on was achieved.—The s a dramatic production, the m\cation defied all the rules and is of the theatre. It was a play -• ,]mcuc and a third act; the first I acts were merely intermissions opening and the climax. !, /i ns of newspapermen who ahout the press table at the lb.tel were a disappointed lot. : there with sharpened pencils >s of blank paper, ready to take i dialogue of the Cleveland pro files had been promised a clash u iv\o parties, a series of stormy a thrcc-day fight punctuated by hates and, as the climax, a dra- -t i iie when the voting would de- "iie. Hut nothing of the kind The pencil sharpeners were <!. and the gentlemen of the press n a cpiandary. The news report i«- Z.v ni't convention therefore cannot < happenings of that eventful It can be resumed in a few Vveland, 1930, healed the breach md, 1921. For the first time ars the Zionist Organization i real coalition administration the counsel of Justice Louis 1). and manned with all the active : American Zionism. Judge Julian 1 I.nuis Lipsky will grace the rhead, while Jacob de Haas will, ly, again carry out the wishes of leader of Washington. The man cabinet, made up of a list presented by the late Brandeis- >ip and six names submitted by administration, was elected the last session of the con- carry out the will of the uik and file of America, inlay morning, June 28th, the ■ tier was already filled with ■ delegates. Little Zionist ipeded the regular guests of the r strolls through the lobby. 1 hear a buzzing of questions: H happen? What does Lipsky s Brandeis made a new offer? "ruing r” Few answers could Nobody knew; yet there was nion that the Brandeis memo- tantamount to an ultimatum, ■ he accepted. ting of the National Execu- mittee, representative of the and file throughout the 1 'k place that evening. The Memorandum was to be dis- preparation for the convention. I dc theatre was supplied by Dr. \ ise, who from New York had r,, ugh the Associated Press, a calling the Zionist Organization Lea a morally, financially and politically bankrupt body. The memo randum was forgotten. The Brandeis issue became of minor importance. Stephen Wise’s statement took the center of the stage. It did not occur to any one that Rabbi Wise had merely repeated the language which the Brandeis-Mack group had been using for the last few years—with the difference that instead of whispering he had spoken according to his habit, outright and as loudly as the American press would permit. The delegates who had had difficulty in un derstanding the legal terminology of the Brandeis memorandum understood the clear charges of Dr. Wise. Thus an issue was provided. Dr. Wise’s statement was universally condemned. Not one delegate rose to defend the man who for so many years has given of his strength to advance the cause of the Jewish Homeland in Pales tine. (I am not defending the action of Rabbi Wise; it was surely badly timed, and the language used lacked his habitual felicity of expression.) There was some thing tragic in this wholesale condemna tion of a leader who but a few hours be fore had been looked upon as the pivotal personality to achieve the miracle of unity in the Zionist ranks. The word “traitor” was used freely. After two hours of passionate speech making by Rabbi Heller, Abe Goldberg and others (it is noteworthy that I>miis Lipsky was the most moderate in quali fying Dr. Wise’s action) the National Executive adjourned, deciding to let the convention deal with Dr. Wise’s statement and the Brandeis memorandum. The atmosphere then was anything but peace ful. It had reached a hysterical level that foreshadowed a rejection of any peace offering by an overwhelming ma jority. Comment flew thick: “Wise has killed the Brandeis memorandum. If we are bankrupt we refuse to negotiate.” Meyer W. Weisgal, former editor of The New Palestine, commented to me: "The convention is opening tomorrow—it closed tonight.” The prologue had been a passionate cry by the delegates against the methods of an opposition, as exemplified by Wise, which rather than union wanted a declara tion of bankruptcy by the Lipsky leader ship. Several of the Lipsky delegates packed their grips and returned home dis appointed. They were convinced that their votes would not he needed. The conven tion was expected to speak in one voice against Wise and the opposition. The convention opened Sunday after noon, but its proceedings seemed anti- climatic. Rabbi Brickner made an im passioned plea for unity which seemed ludicrous because he prefaced it with another attack on Dr. Wise for his bank ruptcy statement. James Waterman Wise, son of Dr. Wise, tried to stop the on slaught on his father. He rose and in terjected: “Just a minute, please—just a minute, please,” but was drowned out by the shouts of the convention There was something pathetic in this cry of the young Wise. He felt himself caught in the relentless motion of the political ma chine that sweeps aside a life-long record and refuses to listen to reason. The con vention mechanism, wound up at the pro logue, was unwinding according to sched ule. Nothing, not even the personal ap pearance of Brandeis, could have made it deviate from its track. When Louis Lipsky rose to deliver his presidential address he was received with an unpre cedented ovation and the singing of the "Hatikyah.” None could doubt that the President of the Zionist Organization was holding the convention in the hollow of his hand. His lean, tired face epi tomized, in the eyes of the degelates, the abused, ealumnied organism of the Zionist Organization, marching on and on despite obstacles and insults. Not that this at mosphere was created by any Mephis- tophelian political machine which had hypnotized the convention. It was still the echo of the spontaneous outburst at the National Executive Committee meet ing. It was the bitter reaction of dele gates who had come to make peace and who had been aroused to indignation by the challenging statement of Dr. Wise, which demanded their capitulation instead of their co-operation. The opening session was over in less than two hours. I.ipsky’s address— ignoring all controversies, remaining aloof from the battle brought the last doubters rallying around him. The convention was hit. Monday was a day of rumors. The morning session, which was to debate the Brandeis memorandum, was postponed to the afternoon, I.ipsky’s announcement of negotiations between the Administrative Committee and the authorized represen tatives of Louis I). Brandeis was received first with amazement and then with ap plause. The convention shifted to the lobby and to the private rooms. Sounds of heated discussion penetrated through closed doors into the corridors. The lobby, with small groups listening to self- appointed speakers, recalled London's Hyde Park. “De Haas, Robert Szold and Brodie have arrived with a letter from Brandeis . . . Lipsky is ready to step out . . . Mack demands the elimination of Lipsky ...” A multitude of startling yet plausible statements. An hour before the opening of the afternoon session the hall was packed. A tense atmosphere. Breathless waiting. Hundreds of eyes remained fixed on the empty platform, daring not to look away lest they lose the beginning of the great climax. One—two hours pass. Never before have I seen so patient a crowd. After two hours of waiting a group started to sing, and the rest joined in the tune of Palestine Chalutz songs. After another hour Max Shulman of Chicago came on the platform and announced that the session was postponed for seven o’clock that evening, as negotiations be tween the administration and the Brandeis representatives were still going on. The evening session was almost a repe tition of the afternoon meeting. Breath less waiting. Tense silence, and then singing. After a three hours’ wait Louis Lipsky—haggard, worn out, disappointed —came to the platform and announced that the negotiations had not been con cluded because the Brandeis representa tives were having difficulty in communi cating with their leaders over the long distance wires. He told the delegates to come back in an hour, when there might be some definite word front theTjlWhdeis representatives. When, about eleven o’clock, the session (Continued on Page 10) st APPRECIATE the generous suggestion which many of * I you have made that I should again assume the official / responsibility of leadership in the Z.O.A. When eighteen years ago I first gave serious thought to the problems of Jewry and began to search for the means of preserving the spiritual legacies of Israel as an active force in the world, I became a Zionist and a follower of Herzl. My visit to Palestine in 1919 rendered more powerful the appeal: removed any linger ing doubts as to the practicability of the undertaking; and convinced me that in carrying out the principles of the Balfour Declaration the welfare of both Jews and Arabs would be advanced. T he events since have deepened these convictions. Added years make it impossible for me to assume now the official responsibilities of leadership as I did prior to 1921, but I am ready now as then to serve the cause. Necessarily the service to be rendered must be limited in scope to advising from time to time when requested on questions of major policy. Such service I am now rendering through Mr. War burg to the Jewish Agency. Such service I can render also to the Z.O.A. In my opinion it will be far more effective if rendered to an administration formed on the general lines of the memorandum of May 22nd, 19 30. My warm greetings and best wishes, Louis D. Brandeis.