Confident that “the governments of Britain and of the United States know their responsibility for the life and safety of the Jewish population in Palestine,” Jewish leaders here today stated to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that they “hopefully look towards the future while applying supreme efforts to defend the Jewish Homeland.”
A day of fast and prayers was observed yesterday by the Jews throughout Palestine on the occasion of the seventeenth day of Tamuz. A procession of orthodox children and elders marched through the streets of Jerusalem bearing posters which called upon the rest of the population to join in prayers for the victory of the Allied Nations and for destruction of the forces endangering the Holy land. Acting on a proclamation issued by the rabbinate, the shofar was blown in all synagogues and chapters from the Psalms were recited.
While continuing to mobilize all its forces for the defense of the country, the Yishuv today also completed preparations for the celebration of the Fourth of July which coincides with the 60th anniversary of the Bilu, the first Jewish pioneer group to settle in Palestine, which was composed of Russian Jews who were the forerunners of the modern Zionist movement.
American Jews and other American citizens residing in Palestine are flooding the American consulate in Jerusalem with inquiries regarding the possibility of their joining the American armed forces in the Near East. A number of American Jews in Palestine enlisted in the British forces last month when it was announced that U.S. citizens could enlist in the British military units without taking an oath of allegiance to the King.
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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.
