The Jewish Agency for Palestine indicated today that Jews would be willing to serve in British forces outside the Holy Land as well as in this country.
Moshe Shertok, head of the Agency’s political department, declared at a press conference that the Agency’s offer to aid in the defence of Palestine was not necessarily confined to action within the country’s boundaries.
(Dr. Chaim Weizmann, president of the Jewish Agency, has written to Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain placing at Britain’s disposal “Jewish manpower, technical ability and resources.” Chamberlain replied that “your public spirited assurances are welcome and will be kept in mind.)
Shertok said the Jewish Agency was willing to maintain an “armistice” with Britain regarding “unenforced phases of the White Paper,” which outlined Britain’s policy for establishment of an Arab-dominated state in Palestine.
David Ben Gurion, chairman of the Agency’s Palestine Executive, declared: “Our political weight is now increased. It is impossible that England will not recognize and utilize the strength of the Jews.” He added, however, that “we have no right to weaken our powers of resistance against the White Paper” and stressed that American Jewry had the greatest responsibility ever in this regard.
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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.
