Report to the ... Zionist Congress and to the Council of the Jewish Agency in ... · 1935-08-01 · 8.1935 · p. Seite 39

immigration certificates for the Palestine Offices in response to' their direct applications remained unaffected. The Palestine Officeswere advised to deal with such applications in the usual way. 14. Nevertheless the Betar, by maintaining that its members had been deprived of the right of admission into Palestine, carried on an enormous propaganda against the decisions of the Executive and as a counter-measure proclaimed the boycott of the Zionist funds, the Keren Hayesod and the Keren Kayemeth. This boycott declaration did not have any noticeable effects financially, but assumed forms which are dealt with separately. 15. On the basis of the charge of the Attorney in the Court of Honour, the proceedings of the Court took place in Jerusalem on April 4th, 1934. The Senate consisting of the judges, Dr. Oscar Wolfsberg, Mr. Richard Lichtheim and Dr. Moses Smoira, unanimously condemned the Brith Trumpeldor on June 6th on account of breach of discipline and administered against it a reprimand, the second most serious form of punishment. In their judgment it was stated : The Court is of the opinion that in the instruction forming the subject of the charge there is not only a gross violation of Zionist discipline, but also a grave infringement of the rights of the Jewish Agency, which is calculated to injure Zionist interests. . . . The Court is therefore of the opinion that the Zionist Executive was justified in the case in question to carry out the decision regarding the temporary suspension of the immigration rights of the Betar. The Court is of the opinion that the accused Brith Trumpeldor must be punished. . . . On the basis of the foregoing, the Court decided to administer against the accused Brith Trumpeldor the punishment of a reprimand (according to par. 23c of the Constitution of the Court of Honour). But it is an essential condition of the restoration of the rights of the Brith Trumpeldor that the S hilt an Betar shall issue a declaration that he will not exercise the methods employed in the aforementioned instruction, as it is inadmissible that he should on the one hand demand an assignment of the-immigration certificates from the Jewish Agency and at the same time boycott these certificates and seek roundabout ways of obtaining them. 16. After publishing this judgment the Executive addressed to the Betar a request to make the declaration prescribed by the Court of Honour as the pre-requisite condition of the restoration of its rights. Despite repeated requests the Committee of the Betar declined to give this declaration and reinforced its negative attitude in a new instruction in which it accused the Court of Honour of partisanship, again disputed the right of the Jewish Agency to issue certificates, and announced the continuance of its fight against the position of the Jewish Agency. At the same time, the members of the Betar were allowed to apply to the Palestine Offices for certificates only with the express permission of the Betar. 17. The Immigration Department of the Palestine Executive thus found itself obliged to instruct the Palestine Offices to grant certificates to members of the Betar until further orders only if 39