Palestine Government Attacks Jewish Agency; Threatens to Deprive Jews of Protection

The Palestine Government today charged the Jewish agency with attempting to “stir up racial hatred” and with bad faith in not keeping ### promises to suppress terrorism within the Jewish community. The charges were stained in an official communique which warned the Jewish community that continuation of “indiscriminate murder and condoned terrorism” can lead only to forfeiture the community of all rights in the eyes of the world “to be numbered among the ?ilized peoples.”

The communique contained a threat to withdraw military protection from the Jews. ##ter praising the activities of the British security force, the statement said that spite this fact the Agency has attacked the British troops and police, and added: at must henceforward be clearly more difficult for British troops to look upon members of the Jewish community as persons who are entitled, as they are, to protection.” ##rs of the Jewish community as persons who are entitled, as they are, to protection.”

Asserting that the Agency cannot, for political reasons, fight internal ter##rism, the communique said that therefore the Agency is conducting a propaganda program designed to promote hatred against the British. Pointing specifically to the ?mbing in Jerusalem last week in which 54 Jews lost their lives, the communique maintained: “In spite of official denials, the Jewish Agency has repeated that it was British Army convoy that was responsible for the Ben Yehuda Street outrage. Nobody outside Jewish circles believes this, and there can be no other purpose in repeating than to stir up racial hatred.”

The government also lashed out at the Agency’s refusal to ask Jewish witnesses of the bombing to cooperate with the government inquiry, while the Agency launched in investigation of its own.

JEWS INTERPRET BLAST AS RUPTURE OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH AGENCY

Responsible Jewish quarters interpreted the government’s blast as a rupture of diplomatic relations with the Agency. Some observers though that it amounted to a refusal to recognize the Jewish defense forces as long as British troops remain on Palestine soil.

Listing the major extremist actions of recent months, including yesterday is blasting of troop train near Rehovoth, the communique stated that when the administration asked the Agency and the Jewish National Council to cooperate in suppressing the Irgun and the Stern Group, the institution refused on the grounds that it was against the political interests of the Jews. This refusal has “facilitated the spread of lawlessness and disorder to a point at which the community itself is threatened by destruction by elements within itself,” the communique added.

Referring to the Agency’s recent statement that it stood for law and order, whereas the Palestine Government does not, the communique insisted that the Agency statement “must be judged in the light of the fact that for many years this international body has been breaking the laws of Palestine and of other countries in which it operated.”

It paid tribute to the Haganah for foiling extremist plots “from time to time, “bit continued that there “still remains no method for dealing effectively with these people except the machinery provided by law.”

(The complete text of the Palestine Government’s commuunique was read in Commons today by the British Under-Secretary for Colonies, Lt. Col. David Rees-Williams. Simultaneously, the British delegation to the United Nations released the text at Lake Success.)

The first, semi-official reaction of leaders of Jewish national institutions to the government attack vas that it is “a purely denunciatory statement which is in no way calculated to advance the cause of peace in Palestine.” One source termed it “adroit manipulation of half-truths and lies,” He called it “worse than propaganda-it is incitement to racial hatred and further violence. The Agency has nothing whatever to do with any terrorist group whatever its nationality, and absolutely rejects the government charges.”