The passengers on the Marine Carp who were not allowed to land in Beirut told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency today, following their arrival at Haifa, that their protest against the action of the Lebanese authorities was carried to the U.S. consul in Beirut by a fellow-passenger William Polk, great grandson of James K. Polk, who was President of the United States from 1852 to 1856. They reported that the consul said that anti-Jewish discrimination was the official policy of the Lebanese Government, but that he would ask for an explanation.
The English-language Palestine Post today called on the government to “fulfill its duties to defend Palestine Jews against racial discrimination,” and voiced the hope that the State Department would take similar action on behalf of the American Jews, and that “an echo will reach the U.N. Assembly, where the Lebanese delegate pays lip service to the principles of civilized behavior.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.