THE JEWISH AGENCY FOR PALESTINE, RECOGNIZED BY THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS AS SPEAKING FOR THE JEWS OF THE WORLD ON PALESTINE MATTERS, TONIGHT CHALLENGED THE UNDERLYING ASSUMPTION OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION REPORT THAT THE MANDATE IS INHERENTLY UNWORKABLE.
THE PALLIATIVES SUGGESTED BY THE ROYAL COMMISSION, NO LESS THAN THE SCHEME TO PARTITION THE COUNTRY INTO ARABS AND JEWISH STATES AND A BRITISH-MANDATED AREA, ARE INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE MANDATE, THE JEWISH AGENCY DECLARED IN A STATEMENT.
“WE VIEW WITH AMAZEMENT THE WAY IN WHICH THE GOVERNMENT’S STATEMENT SWEEPS AWAY THE PRINCIPLE OF ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY AND FIXED A POLITICAL MAXIMUM IN VIOLATION OF OUR RIGHTS,” THE STATEMENT SAID. “WE ENTER THE STRONGEST PROTEST AGAINST SUCH A DISTORTED APPLICATION OF THE REPORT.”
MEANWHILE, THE STATEMENT APPEALED TO THE JEWISH PEOPLE TO “REMAIN CALM AND TRUST IN THE JUSTICE OF OUR CAUSE AND UNITE ALL OUR FORCES FOR THE DEFENCE OF THE INALIENABLE RIGHT TO OUR NATIONAL FUTURE IN ERETZ ISRAEL.”
ORMSBY-GORE SCOUTS FEARS OF DISORDERS
WILLIAM G.A. ORMSBY-GORE, COLONIAL SECRETARY, TOLD THE HOUSE OF COMMONS TODAY THERE WAS NO IMMEDIATE CAUSE TO FEAR FURTHER DISORDERS IN PALESTINE AND NO SPECIAL EVIDENCE OF INCREASED ANTI-BRITISH PROPAGANDA.
THE ARRIVAL OF THE CRUISER REPULSE AT HAIFA HARBOR TODAY WAS PURELY A PRECAUTIONARY MEASURE, THE COLONIAL SECRETARY SAID AS THE GOVERNMENT RELEASED THE ROYAL COMMISSION REPORT AND CABINET STATEMENT ON PALESTINE.
THE REPORT AND STATEMENT WERE BEING ISSUED AS A WHITE PAPER, PRIME MINISTER NEVILLE CHAMBERLAIN STATED IN COMMONS. THE HOUSE DEBATE ON THE ROYAL COMMISSION REPORT WILL TAKE PLACE JULY 30 — THE SAME DAY THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS MANDATES COMMISSION MEETS IN EXTRAORDINARY SESSION IN GENEVA TO CONSIDER THE MANDATORY’S REPORT.
REPLYING TO A QUESTION BY COL. JOSIAH WEDGWOOD, LABORITE, MR. ORMSBY-GORE SAID THAT THE PALESTINE GOVERNMENT’S REPORT TO THE MANDATES COMMISSION FOR 1936 WAS NOT IN THE NATURE OF AN APOLOGY OR DEFENCE OF HIGH COMMISSIONER SIR ARTHUR GRENFELL WAUCHOPE’S CONDUCT.
JAMES ROTHSCHILD, LIBERAL, ASKED, “WERE THE FACTS STATED IN THIS REPORT CERTIFIED AS CORRECT BY THE COLONIAL OFFICE, OR WERE THEY BELIEVED TO BE CORRECT?” TO WHICH THE COLONIAL SECRETARY REPLIED THAT THEY WERE “BELIEVED TO BE CORRECT.”
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
