Claude G. Montefiore made the point that although he remains an anti-Zionist, he is not anti-Palestine. In explaining this distinction, Dr. Montefiore stated that as long as the existence of the Jews will not have reached the stage of evolution when they will become solely a religious community, he will continue to be an anti-Zionist, because he refuses to share in a movement which fosters and stimulates ideals which he regards as dangerous and as a step backwards from the point of view of Jewish religious universalism. He believes, he stated, that the Zionist leaders and especially the chief leader, who is probably the ablest living Jew, will remain nationalists of a deeper brand. With them, religion seems to take a back place, while they continue to regard the Jews as a nation like the Danes. He is not anti-Palestine, he declared, because he favors the sending of numbers of unhappy Jews to live happily on the soil of Palestine and to produce there science, art, literature, ethics and religion which the future centuries may admire. He objects, however, to the idea of the Jewish national home in Palestine and must, therfore, remain an anti-Zionist.
He expressed the opinion that what exists now is the so-called “Churchill White Paper Zionism.” The other brand of Zionism has disappeared. Nonetheless, he is of the belief that the Zionists themselves will never sacrifice their national aspirations.
The president, Mr. Rothschild, gave expression to his resentment of a proposal recently put forward that the League of British Jews dissolve. It is doing no harm, he stated, and the membership dues are small.
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
