All radio stations in the Union of South Africa went off the air yesterday for two minutes as part of the nation-wide observance of a day of mourning and protest for the hundreds of thousands of Jews who have been murdered by the Nazis in Europe. Church leaders and public officials joined Jewish spokesmen in demanding measures to save the Jews from total extermination.
An open air meeting here, attended by 10,000 people, presided over by the Bishop of Crayston, adopted a resolution placing the citizens of Johannesburg on record as condemning the “systematic extermination of the Jews” and urging the United Nations to prevent the shedding of more “innocent blood” by taking measures to rescue those who can be saved and to provide asylum for them. A. Moore, president of the Trades and Labor Council, demanded the “opening of the gates of Palestine, the Soviet Union and the other United Nations to the Jewish refugees.” Other speakers included W.B. Madeley, Minister of Labor; S.W. Kirschner, president of the Zionist Organization; and leaders of the Protestant and Catholic churches here. Consuls of several of the United Nations were seated on the speakers platform.
Similar meetings, called jointly by the Board of Deputies of South African Jews and the Zionist Organization, were held throughout the country and Jewish businesses closed at 4 P.M. Synagogues in all Jewish centers were crowded as worshippers recited mourning prayers.
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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.
