Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA)

Strategic Alliances for a Secure, Connected, and Prosperous Region

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Authority and Legitimacy in Jewish Leadership: The Case of Lucien Wolf (1857-1930)

April 2, 1992

The traditional leadership of Anglo-Jewry came increasingly into question in the early 1900s. A burgeoning agenda associated with an influx of East European immigrants and a rising tide of anti-Semitism provided ammunition for Zionists and workers' organizations to mount a challenge to its hegemony. The challenge was sharpest in the area of foreign affairs where the part-time amateur conduct of a self-selecting, self-perpetuating oligarchy in the Conjoint Foreign Committee appeared most keenly out of touch, out of date, and lacking in democratic accountability.