A JEWISH PARLIAMENT.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXVIII, Issue 7963, 14 February 1906, Page 7

A JEWISH PARLIAMENT.

' The establishment of a Parliament of the Jews of the world, is the latest suggestion for the improvement of the lot of the persecuted Tace. This emanates from Mr B. J. Belisba, of Manchester, whose idea 18 that such a representative body should meet annuallv to discuss matters of importance to the Jews as a race, and that on account of Its representative character its pronouncements would have weight with all civilised nations. Zionism, says Mr Belisha, has failed because it is representative of only a section of Judaism, whereas a Jewish Parliament which said to Russia, "The persecution of the Jews must cease," would be listened to. His scheme provides for a Parliament of 500 members and a Cabinet of fifteen (each of the latter to be paid £IOO a year). There are 10,000,000 persons in the Jewish nation, and of these 1,000,000 would be electors, and would maintain at half-a-crown a head, an annual Parliamentary fund of £125,000 a year. The proposal has been received With mttob approval by the Jewish community in London and arrangements bad been made at the end of December for the holding of a meeting to discuss the question. The -secretary of the Chief Rabbi de•scribed the "cheroe as a "splendid idea," and went on to say that "the 'chief aims of such an assembly should be to take precautionary measures to prevent the recurrence of "the horrible massacres of Jpws which have taken place in Russia and to assist financially those who are persecuted. A representative body would carry great weight with all nations. Brankfort, I 'think, would be a very good centre for such an assembly." Whether such a body would have weight with the nations is, however, debatable. The Rev. E. Spero,. minister of the' Central Synagogue, while approving cordially of the idea, took the view that such a Parliament would have no international influence. But, he thought, there was important work for it to do among the Jews themselves. "The great need of the Jews at present is a revision of their present system of -appointing teachers and preachers. "The Jews of every nation are in sore 'need of correction. There are many intellectual men among the Russian Jews, but there are many who may be said to be responsible for the horrors of which they have been the victims. In England, too, there are many in whom money has brought out all those bad charaoeristics which make Jews a race distrusted and unpopular. Jews are never shown their own faults because the preachers of the synagogues are selected and receive their salaries from a board of management. They and their wives and obildren are dependent entirely on a few members of their race for a living and dare not raise a voice of protest against the foibles of their flock." If the Parliament could change the state of things and the condition of the poor Jews in the crowded cities it would do a great work.