Creation of a Jewish home guard in Palestine, consisting of 40,000 to 50,000 men, was demanded here today in view of the imminent danger to Palestine as a result of British reverses in Libya.
This demand was voiced by the Jewish Fighting Force Committee, which is headed by Lord Wedgwood and Victor Cazalet, M.P., and includes many parliamentarians among its membership. At the same time, the committee reiterated its request that Britain form a Jewish military force in Palestine, using the 13,000 Jews already serving with the British forces in the Middle East as a nucleus. The group pointed out that 20,000 additional Jewish men are available for such an army, not including 6,000 supernumeraries who could easily be trained for military service.
The Board of Deputies of British Jews, today, discussing the question of Palestine, decided that in the future the Palestine problem will be treated as part of the entire post-war reconstruction plans. The recent appeal issued to the Jews of the world by Russian Jewry was discussed by the Deputies. Sir Robert Waley Cohen pointed out that the Board had responded sympathetically to the appeal.
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.
