Silver Accuses Britain of Causing Tension in Palestine; Calls for American Chalutzim

Rabbi Abba Hillel Silver, who returned from Palestine last night, said today that “the sole tension in Palestine today is caused by Great Britain’s illegal interference with the free entry of Jews into the country.” At the same time, he appealed for American chalutzim to help develop Palestine’s resources. In a statement issued here Dr. Silver said:

“I found the Yishuv more normal than I was led to anticipate, busily at work and full of post-war plans for rapid development and expansion. Within a decade or two Palestine stands to revolutionize the economic life of the entire Near East, if the straitjacket of political and economic restrictions which confine it today, is removed.

“Everywhere there is a great demand for American goods, machinery, and technical skill. Above all, for American chalutzim to come and make their contribution to the next phase of the country’s progress. The Yishuv asks of American Jewry today not only financial support, but also gift of hand and mind.

“The sole tension in Palestine today is created by Great Britain’s illegal interference with the entry of Jews into the country, hundreds of thousands of whom are knocking at its gates. All the clashes have been with the police and military forces of the country, not with the Arabs. An equilibrium of strength has already been established which the Arabs understand and respect. All the noise and the rioting are the work of non-Palestinian Arabs outside the country.

“The Yishuv is resolved on two things: to protect at all costs, and regardless of sacrifices, those who seek the sanctuary of the Jewish National Homeland, and to accept no final solution which will whittle down the national rights of the Jewish people in Palestine.

“The Yishuv is disciplined, more united than ever before, and in a determined and militant mood. It was bitterly resentful of Bevin’s statement and of the Joint Commission of Inquiry. It was also baffled by President Truman’s contradictory attitude. I am sure that it will be greatly heartened by the action of the Congress of the United States, which it was awaiting with keen eagerness.”