A plenary session of the Board of Deputies of British Jews today adopted a statement submitted by its executive committee expressing the disappointment of the Jews in England with the statement on Palestine made in the Ecuse of Commons by Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin.
An amendment hailing U.S. participation in the inquiry commission, and pledging cooperation with the new body was defeated, as was one which strongly denounced the new policy as a continuation of Britain’s breach of faith.
The statement emphasizes the concern of British Jewry at the fact that the White Paper has not been abrogated. It stresses that whereas several Arab states have been admitted to the United Nations Organization, “there appear to be no arrangements contemplated for Jewish representation within the United Nations Organization, despite the contributions to the Allied war effort of the Jewish community in Palestine and of the sacrifices of the whole Jewish people.”
The Board points out that the demand for a British policy of large scale immigration is supported by the overwhelming majority of Jews all over the world and not confined to a particular group of Jews. It concludes with a reaffirmation of the Board’s Palestine statement of Nov. 1944, urging the Government to declare Palestine, after a period of transition, a Jewish state or a Jewish commonwealth.
Prof. Selig Brodetsky, president of the Board, told the meeting that the Bevin statement not only continues the White Paper, but makes it more effective, since Arab consent is now required for the 1,500 monthly that are to be admitted.
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.
