Sir Isaac Isaacs, the 88-year old former Governor General of Australia, an Orthodox Jew, issued a statement to the Australian press declaring that Zionists in Australia “are playing with dynamite” if they insist on the immediate repeal of the British White Paper and on the opening of Palestine to free Jewish immigration.
His statement followed a warning to Zionist leaders here urging them to cancel their arrangements for a mass-meeting to protest against the White Paper. The Zionist leaders refused to heed his warning.
“Everything depends on an Allied victory,” says the statement by Sir Isaac which is prominently featured in all daily newspapers, “The United Nations cannot afford to jeopardize the ultimate triumph by antagonizing the Moslems of the world.” The statement asks the Zionists “to abandon pressure upon the British Government, in the interests of all concerned.”
Pointing out that Palestine is only one of the possible places of refuge for Jews from Europe, Sir Isaac expressed the opinion that “Palestine is a place fraught with peril for the integrity of the British Empire and for the issue of the present war.” He emphasizes the delicacy of the Moslem problem, and declares that he would welcome and support any practical suggestion with regard to saving the Jews from Europe, providing that “it does not embarrass the British Government, weaken the war effort, or invite antagonism on the part of the powerful Moslem world of which Turkey is an important section.”
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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.
