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T H E R N ISRAELITE
VIMENTS ON THE 34TH ZIONIST
CONVENTION
By MEYER W. WEISGAL
I he Following Firms Extend Season's
Greetings to the Augusta Community
writer of this article was f<y> %
f a decade executive secretary
of - the Zionist Organization of
■ira and is one of the most
itative commentators on Zion
ist affairs.
One of the chief actors at the 34th
1 convention of the Zionist Or-
it ion of America remarked:,
•\V( (on the platform) had the feel
ing as if we were talking 1 to ourselves
all the time.” This, to a great extent,
characterizes the Atlantic City Zionist
gathering. There was little communion
between the platform and the audi
ence. Nothing that came from the plat
form, whether through amplifiers or
not, seemed to register. Somehow the
voices got lost before they reached the
minds of the delegates.
The Convention, it may be said,
ended before it actually began. The
report of the Committee of Six, pre
sented by Louis Lipsky at the opening
session, made it clear that an under
standing had been reached between the
two factions—the Mack and Lipsky
groups—and that the convention,
willy nilly, would rather have to swal
low the law as proposed by the Com
mittee of Six. Thus, the epilogue was
played before the prologue. Once the
ecret went out that peace had been
made, the suspense was lost. Even
an amateur playwright will tell you
Tat a play without suspense is doom
ed to failure.
1 he first session stamped the entire
convention as a convention of peace
arranged by Zionist leaders without
he participation of the rank and file.
The delegates had come without enthu
siasm and in a rather indifferent
mood. Before Judge Mack called the
assembly to order, there was not a
single individual in the room who
anticipated an interesting or colorful
meeting. Charged with the task of
adjusting differences and creating a
better balance in the Administrative
( on >mittee, the Committee of Six, in-
tead of giving the delegates even the
usion that they were expected to
'elp in the solving of the problem,
presented the Zionist delegates with
\ accompli. Peace, in order to be
‘five or impressive must come
climax to a series of conflicts,
"tions must be permitted to ex-
themselves if logic or sober
merit is to have a lasting effect.
producers of the convention
apparently not concerned with
audience. They presented a se-
' f speeches which, in a long hall
" 1 no more acoustics than a railroad
n, never held the attention of
bsteners. Besides, the addresses,
v ery few exceptions, were medio-
Gthout flame or conviction. It
nl y w hen Judge Mack spoke of
• decessor of the present Presi-
the World Zionist Organiza-
ut the convention woke up and
°tice of the platform.
•nuel Neumann, American mem-
Te World Zionist Executive,
' an address, excellent in
ire ar >d in content: nobody heard
°h de Haas read a prepared
Brandeis on the occasion of
birthday of the Jewish Jus-
the Supreme Court; it failed
to kindle the delegates because of the
lack of decorum. After Louis Lipsky’s
remarks as the spokesman of the Com
mittee of Six, the first session closed,
accepting at the same time, without
any discussion whatsoever, the report
of the outgoing Administrative Com
mittee.
What followed in the next two days
was feeble commentary. True, on the
last afternoon, the delegates broke
loose and acclaimed the resolution on
Dr. Weizmann with an unprecedented
ovation. It was intended to convey to
the American delegates to the World
Zionist Congress that American Zion
ists did not agree with the elimina-
(t'on of Weizmann. True also that when
*the Nominations Committee brought in
the slate of the Committee of Six plus
six names representing the Zionist
rank and file, pandemonium broke
loose. Mr. Brodie and his associates
were not prepared to accept an Ad
ministrative Committee effacing the
dividing line between the so-called
Mack and Lipsky groups. To the ma
jority of the delegates (I refer to the
men and not to the members of Ha-
dassah) the vindicative attitude of
Mr. Brodie was the signal for a vocal
protest, the like of which no Zionist
convention ever heard. All the unspok
en speeches, all the silent resignation,
all the checked emotions of the dele
gates became articulate in a long,
loud shout of indignation that by its
very force compelled Brodie to with
draw his objection. In all fairness it
should be mentioned that Abraham
Tulin, a die-hard of the Mack group,
gave the signal to his colleagues to
desist from their objection and vote
for the slate as revised by the Nomina
tions Committee.
Judge William Lewis of Philadel
phia who presided, and against whom
Brodie appealed, must be credited
with injecting into the delegates that
pride which until then had been a
“suppressed desire.” His statement
that he would resign in order to make
place for more names on the Admin
istrative Committee brought Mr. Bro
die back to normal thinking. At the
same time it made the delegates feel
that on the platform there were men
who sympathized with their Calvary.
The delegates did not know that Louis
Lipsky privately had delivered the
same ultimatum. But without know
ing it, they realized it and celebrated
the reconquered sovereignty of the
rank and file with such vigor that all
the opposition and lethargic elements
had to give way.
The Atlantic City convention now
belongs to Zionist history. No one can
tell at this juncture what its effects
will be on the movement in America.
In a little more than six months, the
35th annual convention will be con
voked Will peace have been establish
ed by then? Will the rancor and per
sonal enmities have been expunged?
The rank and file has given evidence
of discipline. Even a superficial ob
server would have to admit that it is
the leaders, at least some of them,
who have been unable to keep step
with the development of the movement.
The rank and file can be counted on
to support the leadership, if the latter
will really lead in a forward direction.
Copyright 1931 by S. A. F. S.
A LEM ITE LUBRICATING &
AUTO CLEANING CO.
W m. H. Little, Secretary-Treasurer
AUGUSTA CAB & TRANSFER
COMPANY
R. A. Sutton, President.
AUGUSTA CREAM SIZING CO.
Disinfectants-Insecticides
Roach Powders
AUGUSTA DAIRIES, INC.
W alter F. Timm, President.
John H. Kahrs, Secretary-Treas.
AUGUSTA GROCERY CO.
Eli Mustin, President.
AUGUSTA OPTICAL CO.
Robt W. Gatlin, Successor
AUGUSTA ROOFING & METAL
WORKS
BARRETT, SLACK & CO.
BRANCH & SMITH
Building Contractors
BURUM COMPANY
Building Material
T. I). CAREY & COMPANY
Investment Securities
CITY BONDED WAREHOUSE
COMPANY
L. L. Rushton, Manager
CLARK MILLING CO.
J. C. Dempsey, President
P. H. Dunbar, Vice-Pres. and Mgr.
COCLIN BROS. INC.
Wholesale Fruits and Produce
COLEM AN’S MATTRESS
WORKS
Atlantic City, N. J.—Mrs. Edward
W. Jacobs of New York was re-elected
president of Hadassah, Women’s Zion
ist Organization at the final session
of that body’s convention here. Other
officers include: Miss Henrietta Szold,
honorary president; Mrs. Robert
Szold, Mrs. Pearl Franklin, Mrs. Sam
uel Halrin, Mrs. Henry Harris, vice-
presidents; Mrs. Samuel J. Rosensohn,
treasurer, and Mrs. Moses P. Epstein,
secretary. The Hadassah convention
voted to reduce the fee of affiliation
with the Zionist Organization of
America from one dollar to fifty cents.
This affects the Z. 0. A. income to the
extent of more than $15,000 annually.
Boston, Mass.—The familiar story
of aristocratic Bostonians protesting
against the adoption of their family
patronyms by Jewish citizens was
aired here in the courts when Samuel
Cabot, paint manufacturer, sought an
order to restrain Samuel Kubitsky of
Dorchester from using the name Sam
uel Cabot. Kubitsky is also in the
paint business.
E. A. DEMORE
Sheet Metal Contractor
C. VERNON ELLIOTT
Attorney-at-Lnw
GEORGIA-CA RULIN' A PAPER
COMPANY
J. T. Bothwell
GEORGIA ROOFING CO.
W. N. Jenkins
M. J. H ALLAH AN
General Pipe Contractor
HOWARD LUMBER CO.
ALBERT G. INGRAM
Attomey-at-Law
Notary Public and Ex Officio
J. G. IVEY
General Auto Repairing
JOE’S TAXI SERVICE
Joseph E. Herndon, Proprietor
LANK ELECTRIC CO.
\N illiam H. Lane, I*roprietor
PHOENIX OIL COMPANY
ELROY G. SMITH
Consulting Engineer
P. F. SHERON & CO.
“Hats For the Whole Family”
SOUTHERN WELDING CO.
•I. A. Ouzts, Manager
E» P. SKINNER & SON
NURSERY
Landscape Gardening
Rome.—Pope Pius XI gave an exhi
bition of his vast Hebrew knowledge
in a two-hour audience which he
granted to the Chief Rabbi of Milan.
The conversation with Dr. Alessandro
Dafano was conducted entirely in He
brew. Dafano, who has been a friend
of the Pope since the days when he
was only a librarian, had come to ex
press appreciation to His Eminence
for joining in the protest against the
proposed calendar reform.
Berlin.—The Hitlerites in the Reich
stag are preparing to introduce a bill
which would make intermarriage il
legal, according to a story in the
Vorwaerts. Those who violated the
law would be subject to the death pen
alty, the story says.
Berlin.—An indication that Albert
Einstein has changed his mind about
his decision not to visit the United
States again this year was provided
in the preparations that Mrs. Ein
stein is making for the jonrney, which
is expected to bring the famous scien
tist and his wife to California in the
early part of December.