Jewish National Council Votes to Establish Temporary Government Council for Palestine

The Jewish National Council last night voted to ## a temporary Jewish Government Council which would elect members of a provisional Government and set up the necessary government apparatus to take over the Jewish ##e following withdrawal of the British administration.

The decision, adopted by a two-thirds majority vote at a plenary session, ###vided that the Government Council be composed of members of the Jewish Agency president in Palestine, representatives of the National Council and delegates from ###e or six major political parties or political groups. The United Labor Party, ##ently formed by a merger of the left-wing parties Hashomer Hatzair and L’Achdut ###da, proposed that the Government Council be elected on the basis of the strength ### the parties as they were represented in the last World Zionist Congress and at the British National Assembly.Opening a drive in Jerusalem for the raising of a $1,000,000 defense fund in at city, Eliezer Kaplan, Agency treasurer, last night declared that despite the ?perate situation of the Jewish community in the city, there is a good reason for ?pecting a final victory if the Jews can hold out during the next few months. He ?ferred to the government’s charges against the Agency yesterday as proof that the wish community faces hostility from the government as well as the Arabs and the dissidents, whom he accused of “driving a knife into our back.” He also asserted that ## Jews are prepared to participate in a countrywide armistice as long as they are recognized as equals and are given the right to defend themselves. The Jerusalem defense fund goal is one-tenth of the nation-wide goal.