The charge that the Allied governments “have done practically nothing to save the Jews of Europe, not even of the liberated part of Italy” was voiced here today at the session of the Assefath Hanivcharim, the Jewish National Assembly, by Isaac Ben-Zvi, president. The session was convoked for the purpose of discussing ways and means for the immediate rescue of Jews of the occupied European countries.
“We have heard many promises from the Allied governments, but none of them has been fulfilled,” Mr. Ben-Zvi said. “Of the several million Jews in occupied Poland very few have survived. This is true also with regard to the Jews in the other Nazi held countries. We must not continue silent. We must continue to appeal to the democracies whether this is of help or not. We must do our utmost that as many Jews as possible are saved.”
Other speakers, including Mayor Rokach of Tel Aviv echoed similar views. “The time when the Jews of Palestine looked for aid from Jews in other countries has passed,” the mayor said. “The situation has changed. We withstood all attacks. We, in Palestine, are saved. But of what importance are the half-million Jews of Palestine without the millions of other Jews whom we would welcome here?”
Calling upon the Jews in Palestine for increased support for the Rescue Fund, established to effectuate the saving of Jews of Europe, Mayor Rokach also appealed “to the Jews hiding in the forests of Nazi Europe” urging them to hold on until rescue arrives. Appeals for the Rescue Fund were also made by Chief Rabbi Herzog, Dr. Abraham Katznelson, Isaak Gruenbaum and other leaders of the Yishuv.
Moshe Shertok, head of the political department of the Jewish Agency, addressing the session, emphasized that “we, Jews, are not in war with England, but there is a political struggle between us and England.” The Jewish people, he said, firmly believe that the British people and the British Government understand the rightfulness of the Jewish demands.
UNIVERSITY STUDENTS DECIDE TO DEMONSTRATE FOR RESCUE OF JEWS
The student organization of the Hebrew University today voted to hold a mass demonstration before the premises of the Jewish Agency during the session of the Palestine Jewish Assembly. The demonstration will demand intensified action to assist the European Jews.
At the same time, the student groups decided to cable to student organizations and professors at Oxford and Cambridge Universities, urging them to exert all efforts to influence British public opinion in favor of immediate rescue activities. The demonstration before the Assembly session will be addressed by Profs. Klausner, Dinaburg and Shwabe of the University, the announcement said.
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.
