British consulates throughout Japan this week discontinued issuance of Palestine visas, even to holders of Palestine immigration certificates, on the ground that no visas are for the time being, available for transit countries between here and Palestine.
The action affects many of the more than 1,000 Jewish refugees from Poland who have reached Japan from Soviet Lithuania with a view to proceeding to overseas lands. A large number of them intended to proceed to Palestine, possessing Palestine immigration certificates which expire on March 31.
With the war scare in Japan growing daily and with many American families leaving the Far East in fear of possible complications between the United States and Japan, the Polish Jewish refugees temporarily admitted here in transit to other countries fear being stranded in this country or expulsion by the Japanese authorities to Shanghai, where some 30,000 refugees from the Reich are living in miserable conditions, supported chiefly by local charitable organizations with funds of the Joint Distribution Committee.
At present the majority of the Polish Jewish refugees are congregated in Kobe, where they are receiving J.D.C. aid. The Japanese authorities have, however, made it clear that the refugees will not be permitted to remain in Japan for any length of time and, unless they proceed to overseas lands, will be transported to Shanghai, where no special entrance visas are required.
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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.
