Dr. Judah L. Magnes, president of the Hebrew University, who is now on a visit to the United States, urges immediate appointment of Jews and Arabs to governmental positions in Palestine in order to speed self-government and facilitate rapprochement between the two people, in a letter appearing today in the New York Times.
The Anglo-American Committee’s proposal “that good-will first appear and that only then the two peoples can come together, is putting the cart before the horse,” Dr. Magnes writes. “The dangers of this vicious circle ought to be avoided by concrete action, by listing the large numbers of practical interests common to both peoples and making them responsible for day-by-day work in meeting these problems. There is no time to wait until some abstract good-will puts in an appearance. Let a large measure of self-government begin new.”
Dr. Magnes urges that the American and British Governments immediately carry out the inquiry committee recommendation that 100,000 Jews be transferred to Palestine and points out that absorption of these immigrants will require the setting up of a huge organization by the Jewish Agency, with the participation of the JDC and other Jewish bodies. He suggests that UNRRA, the Intergovernmental Refugee Committee, the U.N. Refugee Committee and other groups cooperate.
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