Jewish Agency Announces Opposition to Revision of Partition; Demands Implementation

The Jewish Agency for Palestine today issued a statement denying reports that it is prepared to agree to a revision of the partition decision of the United Nations and tom make new concessions on the Palestine issue.

“These reports ere entirely without foundation,” the Agency statement said. It emphasized that the Jews await “a loyal and faithful implementation” of the U.N. partition decision.

“At the time the partition plan was discussed before the General Assembly last October,” the statement pointed out, “the Jewish Agency stated that the plan of partition which vas proposed involved enormous sacrifice on the part of the Jewish people, which in all justice should not have been demanded of it. But in order to help solve the grave international problem and as evidence of its willingness to Join with the community of nations in an effort to bring peace to the troubled land, the Jewish Agency stated that it most reluctantly accepts that sacrifice. ‘Beyond it, ” it declared, two cannot, we will not go.

“This position remains unchanged,” the statement emphasized. “The Jewish people has accepted the decision of the United Nations. It means loyally to cooperate with it. It awaits a corresponding loyal and faithful implementation of that decision by the United Nations.”

In issuing the statement the Jewish Agency made it clear that its views on the United States proposal, presented to the Security Council this week, as well as to other proposals which may be presented, will be submitted to the Security Council within the next few days.

LIE WARNA FAILURE ON PALESTINE PERILS UNITED NATIONS

U.N. Secretary-General Trygve Lie, addressing a press conference, today asserted the legal responsibility of the United Nations for Palestine, He added that failure to discharge that responsibility would be a blow to the prestige of the U.N, and would undermine the confidence of member states in the organization. Mr. Lie emphasized the following points:

1. The proposed committee of the Big Five would have no overriding power in relation to the Palestine Commission which comes under the “guidance of the Security Council.”

2. The Jerusalem police force could not be used beyond its defined function to protect the Holy Places. No use could be made of it for overall implementation of the partition decision of the General Assembly.

3. Even the establishment of the free city of Jerusalem must wait on certain preliminary stages of partition, such as the setting of frontiers.

4. The Arab demand for constitutional ratification of partition by individual member states is spurious, since such ratification is applied only to inventions and treaties.

Assistant Secretary-General Arkady Sobelev, speaking at the same press difference, said that the Security Council was “free to accept or not to accept” partition decision of the General Assembly. The same opinion was expressed by who added that it was clear from the U.S. declaration before the General Assembly that the American Government had accepted the Assembly’s partition decision.

Former Governor Herbert H. Lehman today called for a reversion, by our government to its “high moral leadership of last November on the Palestine issue, urged that it take the leadership in the creation of an international police ##ce and such other measures as may be necessary so that the partition plan may be ####ried out “in peace arid stability.” He also urged the lifting of the embargo ###ich, he said, is of help only to the Arabs.The Governor spoke at an emergency conference on Palestine called by American Association for the United Nations of which he is a board member, and which more than 60 national organizations were represented.

The Palestine Commission today heard U.N. economist John Reedman report growing crisis in the Palestine food situation. Reedman, who just returned from London, reported that the British Government has virtually guaranteed an adequate ###od supply in. Palestine until May 15, the date of the Mandate’s termination, but ##vised the Commission to begin stockpiling food supplies beyond that date.