Caught unprepared by “Britain’s pro-Arab policies and by the Mufti’s arrogant defiance of a sacred united Nations decision,” the 700,000 Jews of Palestine are now making up for lost time by mobilizing their total manpower to speed their defenses to meet Arab threats of a large-scale invasion, it was reported at a press conference here, today by David Hacohen, Palestine’s leading construction engineer, who arrived in the United States to tour American cities in behalf of the $250,000,000 United Jewish Appeal campaign.
Hacohen, who built Britain’s Middle East defenses during World War II and who now has the responsibility of constructing the roads, air fields end public defenses in the new Jewish state, charged that British indifference made possible the infiltration into Palestine of armed Arab mercenaries from the neighboring Arab states.
“We had expected Britain to observe her international obligations and to maintain law and order during this transition period,” Hacohen said, “but by her so-called neutrality Britain is enabling the Arabs to obtain arms and to attack us and, at the earns time, blocking our attempts to defend our lives.”
Describing the need for immediate financial assistance through the U.J.A., Hacohen said: “The enemy is within our gates, making it necessary for us to fortify every inch of our land. We have a Trojan Horse in our midst.”
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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.
