Registration of all Jewish men and women between the ages of 18 and 50 for national service was announced today after a joint meeting of executives of the Jewish Agency and Jewish National Council.
Those enlisting will be used (1) for security purposes and (2) to render the British army in Palestine any necessary assistance, it was stated.
The Jewish Agency issued a statement calling for assistance to the British army and people, and urging discipline and national service.
“In this emergency, Palestine Jewry must maintain a triple front,” the statement said, “for defence of the Jewish homeland, the security of the Jewish people and the victory of the British Empire.”
The statement added that opposition to Britain’s new Palestine policy was not directed against Britain itself.
The moment war was declared against Germany, the British authorities detained Germans throughout Palestine. The police hauled down the swastika flying over the German Consulate here, while Jewish crowds cheered.
A wave of enthusiasm for Britain has swamped the bitterness engendered by the recent White Paper on Palestine, under which an independent Arab-dominated Palestine states was to be created with the Jews fixed as a one-third minority. On almost every street the conversation turned to how the Jews might help Britain.
The Arab Christian newspaper Falastin said editorially that the Arabs must also support Britain if only to prevent the Jews from profiting by their support.
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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.
