The Palestine Jewish community today took action to spur recruiting as its answer to the bombing of Tel Aviv, in which 13 Jews were killed and 24 injured, and repeated air-raids on Haifa.
The Chief Rabbinate proclaimed tomorrow as “Saturday for Enlistment,” during which rabbis will deliver sermons in all synagogues aimed at speeding up recruiting for the armed forces. Chief Rabbi Moshe Avigdor Amiel of Tel Aviv issued a proclamation calling on all able-bodied citizens of the city to volunteer for Air Raid Precautions work.
The funeral service in Tel Aviv was disturbed by a brief alarm. Nevertheless, Mayor Israel Rokach, continued his eulogy in front of Hadassah Hospital and Rabbi Amiel recited Kaddish before the Great Synagogue.
Tel Aviv’s population of 200,000 met the raid calmly, rising from their beds to spend three hours in shelters. The warning sounded at two a.m. yesterday. Five minutes later a wave of enemy planes flew over the city, dropping bombs in the northern section, hitting an invalids’ home on Bilu Street and similar “military objectives.”
The major casualties were in the invalids home, where four persons between the ages of 70 and 80 were killed. Four others were killed nearby, one of them being Mendel Probst, 53, well-known bibliographer, and a 90-year-old man. Four others were killed elsewhere. The thirteenth was an 82-year-old woman who died of heart failure during the raid.
The second wave came over ten minutes later, mainly affecting the seashore.
Mayor Rokach immediately arrived at Hadassah Hospital to comfort the wounded and supervise ARP work. Pajama-clad inhabitants left the shelters at sunrise, filling the streets as they went about trying to ascertain casualties and damages, which were surprisingly small, considering the duration and intensity of the bombardment. The inhabitants highly praised the newly increased and strengthened ARP services.
Mayor Rokach, interviewed by the JTA, paid tribute to the ARP’s “excellent discipline and behavior.” He stated that despite the mourning over the dead he had ordered all cafes and entertainment places to remain open because of King George’s birthday.
Meanwhile, it was officially announced that in the latest raid on Haifa, bombs were dropped over a wide area, one person was killed and one wounded, and material damage was slight. The raiders were engaged by the ground defenses.
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.
