Post-war Reconstruction Plan of Palestine Government Opposed by Jews

A resolution voicing the determination of the Jews in Palestine not to cooperate with the Government in its post-war reconstruction plan, which is considered to be pro-Arab and opposed to the interests of the Jewish population, was under discussion today at the session of the Small Zionist Actions Committee, following a three-hour address by David Ben-Gurion, chairman of the executive of the Jewish Agency.

Outlining his opposition to the plan, Ben-Gurion simultaneously appealed to the Jews of the United States to lend their maximum support to securing the revocation of the British White Paper which provides for the complete cessation of Jewish immigration to Palestine after the Spring of next year.

The post-war reconstruction plan of the Palestine Government is aimed at helping only the Arabs, and merely supplements the White Paper, which freezes the Jewish population in Palestine, perverting any further Jewish development, Ben-Gurion said. He emphasized that the Zionist movement will insist on the provisions formulated in the Biltmore Declaration, which demanded the creation of a Jewish Commonwealth in Palestine, and will not cooperate in the post-war plan which the Palestine Government announced without prior consultation with Jewish reprsentatives. “Any cooperation with this Government plan, as well as participation in the preparation of plans for the future of Palestine on the basis of the White Paper, actually means reconciliation with the White Paper policy,” Ben Gurion pointed out.

JEWISH AGENCY PREPARES IT’S OWN RECONSTRUCTION PLAN

The resolution, as proposed at today’s session, reveals that a Jewish delegation in London has already informed the British Government that the Jews will not participate in the preparation of the post-war reconstruction plan of the Palestine Government, or in any other plan based upon the white Paper. The resolution, at the same time, emphasizes that the Jews in Palestine will continue to cooperate on the various projects connected with the war effort and will insist on receiving a share of the budget of the Palestine Government for education, health activities and public works.

Today’s session heard with satisfaction an announcement by leaders of the Jewish Agency that the Agency is preparing its own post-war reconstruction plan which includes the development of the Negeb area and the colonization of uncultivated and waste lands.