Murder of Lord Moyne Condemned by Jewish Agency and Palestine Council

The Jewish Agency for Palestine and the Jewish National Council last night issued a joint statement condemning the “dastardly” assassination of Lord Moyne, British Minister of State in the Middle East, and warned that the Palestine Jewish community must crush terrorist elements in its ranks.

“The entire civilized world, and the Jewish public everywhere, are shocked and horrified at the foul murder of Lord Moyne — a crime more dastardly for being committed at a time when the British people with heroic courage and a supreme effort are engaged in the sixth year of a life and death struggle with the Nazi enemy,” the statement said.

“This revolting crime, committed outside Palestine, but the circumstances of which have not yet been cleared up, raises anew the growing danger from the continued existence of terroristic gangs inside Palestine,” it continued. “Terrorism in Palestine, is calculated to wreck our chances for success in our political struggle and destroy our internal peace. The Yishuv is called upon to cast out the members of this distractive band, to deprive them of all refuge and shelter, to resist their threats, and to render all necessary assistance to the authorities in the prevention of terrorist acts and the eradication of terrorist organizations. Our very existence is at stake.”

Moshe Shertok, chief of the political department of the Jewish Agency, was received today by High Commissioner Viscount Gort, to whom he expressed the Agency’s feelings of abhorrence at Lord Moyne’s assassination. This was Shertok’s first audience with Lord Gort.