The American government was called upon by Senator William H. King of Utah, member of the Foreign Relations Committee of the United States Senate, to see to it that the British government adopts such measures as will insure that the recent atrocities and butcheries shall never again recur in Palestine.
Addressing a huge mass meeting held in the Jewish Community Center of this city, called to protest the massacres of the Jews by Moslem Arabs of Palestine. Senator King declared that the United States government was justified in insisting upon such action with regard to Palestine as with regard to any other country in the world. “The representations must be made to Great Britain because we cannot make representations to the savages who committed the atrocities, but we can and should make further representations to the government which has undertaken to maintain peace and order in Palestine,” he said.
The meeting was held under the auspices of a committee of United Jewish Organizations, headed by Louis E. Spiegler. Isidore Hershfield presided. In addition to Senator King the speakers included Morris Freilicoff and Joel Entin, Poale Zion leaders, James Waterman Wise, Gedaliah Silverstone and Rabbi J. T. Loeb.
Senator King expressed the conviction that Prime Minister MacDonald and Minister of Foreign Affairs Arthur Henderson will perceive their duty and replace the officials who were vacillating or guilty of misconduct. At the same time he said, adequate steps (Continued on Page 6)
Resolutions similar in tenor to those adopted by the Madison Square Garden meeting in New York were adopted. The British government was charged with “laxity, inefficiency, incompetent and criminal neglect.”
Exceeding in indignation the denunciations against the Arab attackers, was the condemnation levelled against Jewish Communists and the “Freiheit,” Communist daily of New York, for their recent expressions of sympathy with the Arabs in their atacks against the Jews.
A huge audience wildly applauded Morris Freilicoff, Poale Zion leader, who denounced the Communists as “traitors against the Jewish people who have fallen to the lowest depths of degeneracy.” Freilocoff lauded the action of Abraham Reisin, H. Levick and Menachim Freihert, in resigning from the editorial staff of the “Freiheit” as a protest against the Communist attitude toward the Palestine massacres.
A resolution adopted pointed to the further loss of life and property of American citizens, despite British assurance of safety, and expressed confidence that the American government is prepared for “such action as may be warranted in the circumstances.” Appreciation was expressed in another resolution for the prompt action of President Hoover and Secretary of State Stimson in exerting influence upon the British Government to protect American lives and property in Palestine.
Great Britain’s policy was denounced by Mr. Wise, in particular the disarming of the Jewish self-defense in Palestine. “England, if you will not defend us, at least give us back the right to defend ourselves,” he exclaimed.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
