Weizmann Assails British Government for Refusal to Admit Strume Refugees

Charging that British rule in Palestine has become “not one of consent but one of coercion” since the inception of the White Paper Policy, Dr. Chaim Weizmann speaking today at a memorial meeting for the Strume refugees declared that despite this Jewish efforts in Palestine will continue and its contributions to the war effort will go on.

Addressing a crowded meeting, which was arranged by the Zionist Federation of Great Britain and Ireland, Dr. Weizmann characterized as “an insult to the intelligence the Palestine administration’s arguments that the Strume refugees were not admitted because of the fear that there might be undesirable elements among them. He pointed out that past experience has shown that there were almost no undesirables among the refugees entering Palestine. “Refugees,” he said, “have been received with open arms in this country as have Polish refugees in Palestine, and rightly so. The method of sending people to their death was applied only to the Jews, and to Jews in their national home.”

Discussing Palestine’s importance as a focal point in the military situation in the Near East, the Zionist leader stated that “elementary military considerations should have taught them (the British government) that in a fortress like Palestine today there must be harmony among all the people, but they neglected even this vital consideration…. However, out of this blood and sorrow Palestine will arise. I hope together with you that such tragedies will not happen any more.”

The meeting which heard several other prominent Zionist speakers, adopted a resolution stating that the attitude of the Palestine administration was inimical to the Allied cause, and requesting Lord Cranborne to make radical changes in the Palestine administration and to effect fundamental changes in the policy toward Jewish immigration into Palestine.