Stripping himself of the war service and victory medals awarded to him by the Secretary of State of Great Britain, J. Amikan, a Palestinian veteran of the Jewish Legion, today said, “I wish to remove everything that might remind me of the indignity that the British government has inflicted upon my people.”
Amikan fought with the Jewish Legion under the English flag in the campaign that liberated Palestine from the Turks. He described the enthusiasm of the Jewish soldiers at the time they joined the English forces for the liberation of what they regarded as their homeland. “The medals have since served me as a souvenir of my participation with the British forces in the liberation of our people and the reviving of our desolate motherland.
“Now, after the British government’s mockery of my people and of the motherland it revolts me to use these decorations. They have become an emblem of disgrace.” With these words, he ripped them from his coat.
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.
