The announcement by the British Government yesterday that Jewish infantry battalions are to be organized as part of a Palestinian regiment was welcomed here today as “a marked advance” by the American Emergency Committee for Zionist Affairs, on behalf of the organized Zionist movement in this country.
The statement approved the fact that “the Jewish infantry companies which had been previously mobilized on a restricted and irregular basis will now be incorporated into battalions” and that “the limitation that Jewish companies may be raised only to the extent that Arabs enlist, is now discarded.” Hope was also expressed that “the failure to give the Jewish units full training and equipment will now be remedied.”
“At the same time it is impossible to understand,” the Committee’s comment continued, “that the battalions, when formed, should not be organized into the normal military brigade formations; also that the 10,000 Palestine Jews at present scattered in various military service companies – apart from the infantry companies – are not to be included in the new Jewish battalions but will remain as scattered and unrelated units. Essentially the refusal to grant to the Jews of Palestine proper recognition and status, remains,” it concludes.
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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.
