Herbert Lehman Scores “cowardly and Criminal” Bombing of King David Hotel

Former Gov. Herbert H. Lehman today sharply condemned the “cowardly and criminal bombing of the King David Hotel,” in a statement issued here, where he is vacationing. His statement read as follows:

“As a Jew who has been deeply interested in Palestine for a great many years, I condemn with all my force the cowardly and criminal bombing of the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, which resulted in the death and injury of many people.

“It was a cruel and utterly inexcusable act of a group of lawless fanatics. It will meet with the condemnation and abhorrence of the great majority of the Jews all over the world. Right-thinking people, whether they be of the Jewish faith or not, wish Palestine opened up as a haven for the cruelly oppressed and tortured Jews of Europe. Acts of violence such as the destruction of the King David Hotel will inevitably undo much of the statesmanlike and constructive work that has been carried on for years by responsible organizations and individuals.

“We Jews have a just cause and our fight to gain large-scale immigration into Palestine has met with a sympathetic and helpful response all over the world. We will not win our fight, however, by criminal violence or fanatical methods. To pursue such methods will merely lead to loss of our own self-respect and the respect and sympathy of the world.

“The Jews of Palestine are a law-abiding people and the handful of criminal fanatics who engage in atrocities of this kind must be curbed and rendered important. Right-thinking Jews in Palestine and all over the world must use every means within their power to make further tragic occurrences of this character impossible.

“I abhor the lawless and senseless act and wish to express my deepest sympathy for those who have been its victims.”