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American Jewish Committee Hails Israel. Urges U.N. to Protect Peace in Palestine

May 17, 1948
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Declaring t hat “the very first duty of the American Government and every other democratic nation is to see that the Security Council ##thwith brings into action every power that it has under the Charter to Suppress violence leading to a breach of t he peace in Palestine,” former Judge Joseph M. ##skauer, President of the American Jewish Committee, Jacob Bluestein, Chairman of is executive committee, end Irving M. Engel, Chairman of the administrative committee, in a statement issued today on behalf of the Committee, welcomed the recognition the new state of Israel by President Truman.The statement declared that in the face of aggression by Egypt and other Arab states, the “need of the hour” is for the restoration of “the reign of international ### and order” by the Security Council of the United Natons. Following suppression of violence, the statement said, “every aid and assistance must be rendered to the government of Israel and every endeavor made to bring to its citizens a full realization of the need of cooperation and brotherhood under a democratic system of government that will recognize no distinctions of race or of creed.”

The statement also said that “at this critical time, it is important to define the relations of American Jews to this new government. The Jews of America are of the every essence of the body politics of our country. We Jews in America must entertain for this new government to the Government of Israel. We are brethren of the citizens of Israel. We are citizens of America alone.”

Meanwhile, a statement by Lessing J. Rosenwald, president of The American Council for Judaism, commenting on the proclamation by the Jewish provisional government of its independence, said t hat “it must be clearly understood that the provisional government can be the government of its inhabitants and citizens only; and that it can have no claims upon the national attachments of those of Jewish faith who are citizens of other lands.” He added that “these countries as their homes and homelands, do not have and cannot have, any national attachment or obligation to t his provisional government.”

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