Pinchas Rutenberg, newly-elected president of the Jewish National Council, today proclaimed a universal, graded income tax for Palestine’s 460,000 Jews. The tax, it was declared, is designed to increase employment, encourage production, fight speculation and prevent hunger.
High Commissioner Sir Harold Alfred MacMichael went on the air last night with a new appeal to Arabs and Jews to put aside their differences. Reviewing the latest European war developments, Sir Harold said:
“This is no time for feuds and vendetta and a search for political capital, but for the putting aside of differences so that time may mitigate harshness.”
Sir Harold said that a complete reorganization of Palestine’s economy was essential and he appealed to all elements of the population to cooperate to curtail imports and consumption of non-essentials. He urged an increase in production of foods.
To implement its reorganization program, Sir Harold declared, required the fullest coordination of the populace without the impediments of political animosities which “if continued would seem to welcome suicide.” The High Commissioner said he was not concerned whether any group formally accepts the White Paper (British policy declaration under which Palestine was to be turned into an independent Arab-controlled state with the Jews fixed as a one-third minority) but with general economic safety and material well-being. He expressed the hope, however, that cooperation in “this sphere may bring a general concord.”
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.
