Emile Vandervelde, Belgian Socialist leader, in a letter to Jean Fischer, head of the Belgian Zionist Federation, deplored the Palestine events and urged help for the refugees.
“We must search for the cause of tragic situation of the Jewish National Home. Europe contracted a moral engagement firstly, to give protection to all, material, moral and religious interests in Palestine; secondly, to guarantee security to all and especially to the Jews.
“The League must inquire whether the Mandatory fufilled the above engagements. It is absurd to accuse the Labor government which has been in power but a few weeks. It is unjust not to recognize that the preceding governments were sincerely applying the Balfour Declaration. On the other hand, we must not forget the attitude of the local government in the Wailing Wall affair. If things have gone bad, it is owing to the weakness of partiality toward the Arabs and the absence of measures to avert the catastrophe. I doubt not that MacDonald’s government, which sympathizes ardently with Zionism, will apply the sanctions to those guilty of weakness, short-sightedness and in competency.”
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.
