50,000 Jews Can Be Taken from Balkans Monthly, Says Emergency Rescue Conference

It is potentially possible to transfer 50,000 Jews each month from the Balkan countries to Palestine or any other Mediterranean port in the Middle East without using ships of the United Nations, it was stated today in a report issued by a sub-committee of the Panel on Relief and Transportation of the Emergency Conference to Rescue the Jews of Europe which is meeting at the Hotel Commodore here.

Pointing to the fact that the Mediterranean is now open, the report stated that there are Swedish, Spanish and Portuguese ships available for transporting refugee Jews. In addition, it said, there are many other vessels not equipped for carrying passengers, according to American standards, but which could be utilized if necessary. The panel said that there are probably other ships available in neutral countries, but it was impossible to secure complete information at present.

The panel on Religion of the conference called on American churches to take a more militant stand against anti-Semitism and to act swiftly to save the Jewish people in Nazi-dominated territory whose lives are constantly menaced. The group made plans to form a 20-man committee to persuade the churches into taking what steps they can to fight anti-Semitism. “The churches also must declare that they are not content with government statements of moral principles,” the panel report stated. “These principles must be implemented by action, and swift action, so as to save the Jewish people in Nazi-dominated territory, in a constant race against death. A plea also was made for the churches to support the aspirations of the Jews for establishment of a homeland in Palestine, with full political, economic and immigration rights.

The conference will close Sunday night after adopting a series of resolutions based on the recommendations of the various panels.