CONFLICT OF LOYALTIES

Chronicle (Levin), 17 July 1946, Page 5

CONFLICT OF LOYALTIES

Australian Correspondent.)

Australian Jews Divided BRITAiN'S PALESTINE POLICY

(Rpecial

Received Tuesday, 7 p.m. SYDNEY, July 16. i The number of heated exehanges at { meetings in several States iiulicate that ! \i conflict of . lovalties has caused a j violent schism in the ranks of citizens ; of the .Tewish faith in Australia. AHlitants Zionist speakers have attacked menibors of their own faith for opposing pcditical Zionism and dissoyiating themselves from criticism of British policy in Palestine. One of the bitterest opponents of political Zionism wliich he describes as I undemocratic. and dangerous, is Sir Jsaac Isaacs, former ttovernor-General of Australia. " We are opposed to j political Zionism liccause, as Earl Lis- | towel has said, aiiti-Seiuitism and Jew- , ish Nationalism bofh regard Jews as a » • i i separate people from (Teiitiles and as j Kinuigers arai aliens in wliatever coun- | try they may have settled and over 1 however long a period of time," replied iisir Jssac to the Zionist criticism. TIlo majority of Australian .Jews are noi orgaitised as political Zionists, regard Australia and not Palestine as their hom eland, and utterly repudiate ' ihe doctrine of segregatiou which the theory of political Zionism represents. It is political Zionism wliich, by its uiij fair insistence on a .Jewish State to doininate tlie Arabs, timi prevents the \ peacetinie entry into Palestine of the { iiufortunate European Jews." j Against this solnl body of opinion, a j nuniiH'r of organisations are eudeavour1 ing to wliip up feeling against British ; aclton in Palestine. Rabbi Max >Schenk, ■Ihe Australasian leader of Ihe Zionist j niovement, eniphasises that his moveinenL is a worldwide oue wliich has 110 ! coutrol over tlie violence of the small • extreniisl group kuown as the BLern liang. At Ihe saine time he chtims thai 1 lliere is 110 Jewish terrorism in L'alesiline; only British lerrorisiii and Lliul lihe British Colonial OHice reports are lnased. Ilis organisation, wliich Jias : HowO inenibers or about a quurter of . Auslralia's Jewish population, plans to j Jiold indignalion liieelings over tlie ! i-aiesliiie nrresis. A pro'test has already j been niade to Alr. Ciutley who said ino I -\usl ralian (}o\ eninienl had inerely ! lieen iiil'oriued of British aclton 'iu J'alesl ino. | Jews in Kastorn and Central Europe i look lo Auslnilia and New Zealand lo ! present their euse at the Peace I'onfer-L-nce in Paris next iiionth, according lo jjir. .Maurice 1'erlsw eig, head of the jpoliiical deparlmeut of Ihe World l.lewish ( 'ongress, who arrived in Bvdney yesterday J'roiu the Pniled iSlates j \ i:t New Zealaml. He claiuis that, he ■ is already assured of tlie s,\ injnil hel ic (■oopcral ioji o'f tlie New Zealand GovI ernmeli | . j At a inceling loinorrow with Xfr. Chillev and other Cahinel Ministers, I lie hopes to enlist the support of Ausi trali.i. Dt. Perlsweig says tlie only way j I o sa\c 1 lif" Hiirvi VOI'S OI' Ihl;' nittfi'- ; sacre is to i ucorpora i e cJauses in Ihe ji'care Treaties giiaraiiteeing the rights of Jews. Being outside ihe Power alignincuts which niade the work of Ihe C'ouncil of Poreigii .Ministers so dillicult, Australia aud New Zealand could ' aid Lu tliis work of saivalion. | The ouly thing not clear is t he- rights of Jews 10 which he rel'ers. Tlie Jews j 1 lieinsel ves liere and in other paris of i tlie world uppear tij be iu violent dis | agreement as lo their nalure.