King George VI, in his traditional speech from the throne proroguing Parliament until next Tuesday, touched on Palestine today without disclosing the Government’s plans for the future of that mandated territory.
He said:” I have been deeply distressed by the continuance and recent intensification of violence and lawlessness in Palestine, which have necessitated despatch in the past few weeks of strong military reinforcements. The technical commission have now completed their labors and their report is being carefully studied by my ministers.”
Changing of Palestine from a mandated territory to a British colony and eventually a dominion was advocated last night by Col. Josiah Wedgwood, Laborite M.P., addressing the Oxford Union. Urging a firm stand by the Government to put down the current disorders in Palestine, Col. Wedgwood revealed that he had been recently told by the War Office that with a free hand the Palestine troubles could be liquidated within a few weeks. The Union adopted a motion deploring the Government’s indecision in its Palestine policy.
The weekly Spectator said editorially that strong compensating guarantees must be given the Jews if a policy of restricting Jewish immigration and rejecting partition is adopted by the Government. Commenting on the Nazi deportations of Polish Jews, the periodical declared: “The most significant factor in the situation is the cynical contempt for human rights. The Jewish problem shows how far Europe really is from an era of peace and reconciliation.”
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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.