Several hundred Jewish refugees who escaped from Germany to Cyprus in the first years of the Nazi regime and have since adjusted themselves to life in the British island colony, have appealed for admittance to Palestine in fear of Nazi attacks on Cyprus, it was learned here today.
In their appeal the Jews declared that should they again fall into Nazi hands, they would immediately be interned in concentration camps since many of them are political refugees. They expressed hope that the Palestine administration would admit them under the portion of the Palestine immigration quota which has remained unused during the last twelve months.
The majority of the German Jewish refugees in Cyprus are persons who have been admitted to the island with capital of $20,000 or more. They have established various commercial and industrial enterprises from which the native population has greatly benefited. Some of the factories manufacture products for export, including buttons, false teeth, asbestos pipes and cement. More than 100 refugees have been interned in Nicosia as enemy aliens. In addition to refugee Jews, Cyprus has its own Jewish community, settled mostly in Larnaca.
Anticipating an early Nazi attack on Cyprus, British military authorities are now feverishly fortifying the island, which is the gateway to Syria and Palestine. At the same time the evacuation of British women and children from Cyprus to Egypt was started while native families fearing bombing from the air, are moving to the mountainous sections of the island. The distance from Cyprus to Syria is only about 100 miles and fear is expressed that should the Nazis have succeeded in landing troops in Syria, as reported, they will attempt to move from Crete and from Italian islands to Cyprus in order to menace the British positions all the way from Cyprus and Palestine to Suez.
Latest reports from Syria estimate that the Nazis, who are retreating from Iraq, have now gathered more than 200 planes in Aleppo alone. They virtually control the administration of Syria and Lebanon. They have managed to bring to Aleppo large quantities of aviation oil from Iraq. The British fleet is concentrating between Haifa and Cyprus and is determined to prevent any landing of Nazi troops by sea in Syria. Simultaneously, it was reported that General Charles de Gaulle’s headquarters have been transferred to Haifa and that the Free French forces, under de Gaulle’s leadership intend to play an important role in the expected British move to checkmate the Germans in Syria.
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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.
