The potters herald. [volume] (East Liverpool, Ohio) 1899-1982, 1940-02-22
Riqht Of Homeland
for Jews Demanded
AFL Declares Brituin Should
Guarantee Jewish Right
To Palestine

By President James NJ. Duffy, First
Vice President Il. l.. Wheatley and
John O'Malley.
The 1889 convention of the Ameri-
can Federation of Labor at Cincinnati,
Ohio, adopted strong declaration de-
manding that the British Government
meet the problem presented by the
action of Germany against the Jews
by upholding the Balfour declaration
and guarantee to Jewish refugees the
right to homeland in Palestine.
This subject was presented to the
convention in the following report of
the Committee on international Labor
Relations, which the convention adopt
ed:
Zone of the tragic outcomes of the
march Of relationships in the world
is not only the suppression Of free
trade unions in many lands, but the
suppress racial and religious minori-
ties in one country after the other.
Envy, hatred, malice and intolerance
have been let loose by these tyranni-
cal dictators and the liberties of peo-
pie have everywhere been leopard
lied. The right of men to worship
God in accordance with conscience, the
privilege of men to be secure in their
property rights, have been ruthlessly
set aside.
"Religious leaders of various de-
nominations have suffered persecu-
tion and privations. In some cases
they have become martyrs for the
faith. Religious institutions, church,
and synagogue alike, have been closed,
in some cases desecrated-in some
cases have been destroyed. Such con-
ditions do violence to the standards
of civilized society and cannot be suf-
fered to continue.
Religious persecution is matter
of deep concern to labor; for it is
either forerunner of the persecu-
ton of labor or in some cases it has
followed the suppression of labor. Or
ganized labor believes in the right of
all men to the enjoyment of these
civil liberties; again and again in it's
long history it has opposed any denial
of these rights and has insisted upon
these basic rights as the privilege of
citizenship.
'Today the refugee problem has be-
come one of the heartrending tragedies.
Millions of racial and religious mi
norities have been compelled to seek
new homelands under the threat of
persecution and arrest in their home
lands. Jew and Christian alike have
experienced the pressure of religious
intolerance.
"Your committee expresses it's deep
sympathy for all these victims of re-
ligious and racial prosecutions and af-
firm the conviction that such condi
tions are barbaric.
"'ro meet this need the Jewish peo-
pie sought some years ago to create
Jewish homeland in Palestine. The
nations of the world have in the past
recognized the just claim of the Jewish
to re-establish their home in Palestine.
''The Government and the people of
the United States have from the very
first shown their deep sympathy with
IlllS ClulHl. VII JuIie OU, lJSS lIlc
House and the Senate went on record
in favor Of Jewish rights in Palestine.
Since that time every President of the
United States has reiterated this SYM
pathy of the American people. Ameri
cans, on their part, have manifested
their sympathy and confidence. Thous-
ands of American Jews have settled in
Palestine, and Americans have invest
ed over $1O0,0O0,0OO in that country.
'In view of the foregoing, we call
upon the British Government to up
hold the Balfour declaration and
guarantee to the refugees of an an
cient race the right to homeland Of
their own. We likewise urge the
British members Of the |. f. Il. u, the
British Trades Union Congress, to rem
der every possible support in the at
tainment of this objective"