Permanent resettlement in the American and British zones in Germany of many displaced Jews is suggested in the Palestine “federation” plan drawn up by the Anglo-American exports, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency learned today.
One section of the experts’ report deals with the general problem of the European Jews and suggests several alternatives to resettlement in Palestine. They include, in addition to settling Jews in Germany, stipulations in the Italian and Danubian peace treaties that the displaced Jews be settled in those countries and, also, an appeal to the United Nations Assembly for the settlement of DP’s in all countries, with Brazil being emphasized.
(The chairman of the Brazilian Immigration Council recently stated that his country would be willing to admit 100,000 displaced persons, but he specified that preference would be given to agricultural workers, rather than merchants.)
Further details of the Anglo-American recommendations obtained by the JTA reveal that the Jewish province envisaged under the federation proposal would contain 450,000 Jews and 300,000 Arabs.
The Arab province would contain 815,000 Arabs and 15,000 Jews and the Jerusalem and Bethlehem areas, which would be under British rule, would have 102,000 Jews and 96,000 Arabs. The latter section would be ruled by a municipal council with a majority of elected member’s and a minority of appointees.
The two provinces will have an elective legislature dealing with municipal and village administration, agriculture, fisheries, forests, land sales, education, public health and public works. The provinces would be empowered only to levy taxes and borrow internally and must obtain the consent of the Central Government to borrow abroad.
The plan also calls for the disarming and dissolution of all “illegal forces.”
(The draft of the Anglo-American plan for Palestine is not likely to be released in Washington at least for several days, it was learned today. No immediate plans for publication were known of at the White House, presidential press secretary Charles G. Ross said. At the State Department publication was thought unlikely until Secretary Byrnes has had an opportunity to confer further with Prime Minister Attlee and with the Cabinet Committee deputies, who were summoned by the Secretary from London for discussion of the plan.)
(A Foreign Office spokesman said in London today that the British Government was not planning to release the text of the plan until the debate in Parliament on Palestine, which is scheduled to open on Wednesday.)
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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.