Jewish Agency Policies Under Fire at Meeting of National Assembly

The Jewish Agency was under fire from both the right and the left today as Moshe Shertok, its political chief, reported to the Assefath Hanivcharim (Jewish National Assembly) on latest political developments.

The Hashomer Hatzair, left-wing Socialist group, and the Aliya Hadasha, party of the German-Jewish settlers, attacked the Agency’s “maximalist” demands for a Jewish state, while the Mizrachi and the Tenua Leachduth Avoda, the opposition within the Palestine Labor Party, led the groups charging the Agency with failure to take strong action against the recent repressive measures of the Government.

The latter group also attacked the Agency’s decision to appear before the Anglo-American inquiry committee and its acceptance of the three-month quota of 4,500 certificates. Its spokesmen asked an intensification of the struggle against anti-Zionist measures, including, if necessary, civil disobedience. They urged all Jews to destroy their identification cards, declaring that every Jew is in Palestine legally, and called for intensified measures to bring in visaless immigrants.

Shertok and other leaders of the Labor Party, the majority group in the Agency executive, were hard put to meet these assaults. The political chief said that the Agency’s appearance before the inquiry committee did not indicate acceptance of that body’s ultimate decisions, but warned against precipitate declarations of non-confidence in the committee. The committee, he added, will have to be judged on its findings.

The one issue on which most of the delegates seemed united was the question of Transjordan’s independence. Shertok was applauded when he protected the severance of Transjordan from Palestine and its removal from the Mandate. The meeting also hailed his statement that the Zionist movement and the Jewish community here will not be satisfied with the present small quota and will continue to attempt to bring Jews into Palestine by all means.