The British Government, through its Colonial Secretary Sir Oliver Stanley, today reaffirmed its policy with regard to Palestine, referring back to the statement made in Commons on July 30, 1941, by Prime Minister Winston Churchill.
The reaffirmation, which coincides with the 26th anniversary of the Balfour Declaration, was given by the Colonial Secretary in writing in reply to a question sent to the government from prison by the anti-Semitic member of the House of Commons, Capt. Alan Ramsey, who was arrested in May, 1940, together with Sir Oswald Mosley, leader of the British Fascists, under the defense regulations. Ramsay’s inquiry demanded assurance that the White Paper would be enforced.
Replying to this demand, the Colonial Secretary today said that he had nothing to add to Churchill’s statement of July, 1941, which read: “There is no need for any change in the policy of His Majesty’s Government regarding Palestine.” The British Premier added at that time that this policy would be taken into consideration during the discussions in Cairo on the establishment of a pan-Arab federation.
Capt. Ramsay also demanded that the British Government publish as a White paper the proceedings of the “arms trial” which took place recently in Palestine. This demand was ignored. Another query by Capt. Ramsay asked for a definition of the government’s power over the Jewish Agency members. Replying to this query the Colonial Secretary stated that the position of the Jewish Agency is defined in article four of the Palestine mandate and that its members are subject to the Palestine laws.
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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.
