The overwhelming majority of Jews in the United States support the immediate admission of Europe’s displaced Jews to Palestine and the reconstitution of Palestine as a free and democratic Jewish Commonwealth, the American Jewish Conference declared today in a statement submitted to the United Stations inquiry committee on Palestine. The committee was also urged to visit the displaced persons camps in Germany.
The statement pointed to the need for an immediate change in the current regime in Palestine, which is based on the 1939 British White Paper, because the present situation is dangerous to peace in the Middle East. “The course on which the Mandatory has embarked carries with it the imminent danger of plunging Palestine into total chaos which might well lead to the final destruction of a people whose fate has now become the concern of the United Nations,” the statement said.
By recommending admission of thousands of Jews to Palestine without delay, the U.N. committee would help to end the disturbances, deplored by all Jews, which are attributable primarily to the White Paper policy,” the Conference declared. Refering to the situation of the displaced Jews in Germany, the statement stressed the fact that competent observers have agreed that most of these people are determined to settle in Palestine and that this is the only solution to their problem.
The Conference asked the committee to visit the displaced persons camps in order to ascertain the plight and desires of the Jews there. It also urged that the Jewish Agency be given full authority over immigration of displaced Jews to Palestine and be given “such financial and technical facilities on an intergovernmental basis” as may be required for this purpose.
In advocating the establishment of Palestine as a Jewish Commonwealth, the Conference pointed out that “under a democratic Jewish Commonwealth, the religious and cultural rights of the Arab population in Palestine would be respected, and all inhabitants would be accorded civil and religious equality.” The inviolability of the Holy Places of the Christian and Moslem religious would also be guaranteed, the statement declared.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
