Wendell L. Willkie, in a message to a mass-meeting here called to urge assistance for the persecuted Jews of Europe, attended by 20,000 persons, emphasized that “international power politics” must not be permitted “to close the door to a permanent Jewish homeland in Palestine.” Expressing regret that he was prevented by a previous committment from being present in person, Willkie said in his message;
“Sympathy is not enough. There must be vigorous action. The continued barbaric program of extermination which Hitler is directing against the Jewish people makes the great program in Palestine increasingly important. There must be positive assurance now that the homeless Jews of Europe who survive this dreadful conflict can look forward to a homeland of their own. They have the right to find peace, security and happiness for themselves and for their children. I repeat-sympathy is not enough. There must be justice. And justice demands that the Jewish national homeland in Palestine must have its rightful place in the new world of tomorrow. We must not permit international power politics to close the door to a permanent Jewish homeland in Palestine.”
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.