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Quietly Reigns in Jaffa-tel Aviv Border Area; Jews Halt Attack on Arabs in Petach Tikvah

August 19, 1947
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Today passed quietly in the Jaffa-Tel Aviv border area, with but one minor incident marring the undeclared truce which followed a week of hostilities between Jews and Arabs.

The one incident involved the beating of two Jews by a crowd of Arabs. Neither was seriously hurt. In Petach Tikvah a number of Jews prevented a group of Jewish boys from attacking several Arabs. The adults also beat the boys and sent them scurrying.

David Remez, chairman of the Jewish National Council, today called on the dissident groups to cease their activities and not hamper the Jewish community, if they had “a spark of responsibility left.” At the same time, he warned the Jewish community that there might be “critical days ahead.”

A special meeting of the heads of local councils of Jewish communities decided to consult with the Jewish National Council and other Jewish institutions as to what form a protest should take against the continued detention of three Jewish mayers arrested several weeks ago in a mass round-up of Jewish leaders. One proposal put before the body, but not acted upon, was for the heads of all councils to resign as a protest. It was reported at the meeting that the possibilities for a speedy release of the mayors were slim.

A spokesman for the Jewish Agency condemned attacks on Arabs in the streets of Tel Aviv. “There is no justification for such acts – such hooliganism will be stemped out,” he told a press conference.

An unofficial tally of the casualties during the past week of hostilities reveals that 13 Jews were killed and 33 injured, while 21 Arabs died and 49 were wounded. The casualties resulting from extremist activities against the British amounted to 24 dead and 105 wounded.

Eliezer Kaplan, treasurer of the Jewish Agency, Fritz Bernstein, head of its industrial bureau, and Moshe Shapiro, of the immigration division, today left for Zurich, Switzerland, to attend the forthcoming meeting of the Zionist Actions Committee.

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