The French Government’s answer to a British request yesterday that France accept the Exodus refugees after they have been disembarked in the British zone of Germany will not be given until after Wednesday when the French Cabinet meets, it was indicated here today.
While some semi-official sources believed that the government would accept the Jews, in keeping with its original offer of haven, others point out that the French offer was conditioned upon the refugees landing voluntarily. The French Government, the latter quarters asserted, would refuse to countenance enforced debarkation, even in Germany.
From many sections of the French public have come protests against the British action. Most vigorous denunciations come from the Resistance and former political prisoners. Jules Jefroykin, head of the combat section of the Resistance Movement, said that transportation of the Jews to the “charnel house of Hitlerite Germany” showed to what extent a civilized country “could be carried by a policy of imperial(##).” The French Federation of Former Internees and Political Deportees have appealled to King George VI to intervene to halt the deportation.
It was learned today that a handful of Jews aboard the three prison ships had received Palestine immigration certificates, but insisted upon sailing with the others as a sign of solidarity. There are at least 50 pregnant women aboard who are expected to give birth during the voyage which is scheduled to take at least two weeks. The British authority refused to permit Jewish nurses to accompany the immi-
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.
