England’s withdrawal from the responsibilities it accepted with the assumption of the Palestine Mandate, on the ground that it is difficult or expensive, would be an act of cowardice, bringing lasting shame upon her, is the reply of the “Manchester Guardian” to the letter of Professor Albert Einstein which appeared in its columns this week. In his communication, in which he took to task the attitude of the British press in connection with recent events in Palestine, Professor Einstein asserted that the pace of the work of reconstruction in Palestine is distinctly dependent upon the Mandatory’s cooperation.
Commenting editorially on Prof. Einstein’s statements, the paper declares that the future of the Palestine state is inextricably associated with the self-respect of the British people.
After declaring that Einstein has the kind of fame that makes men forget to which family of the human race he belongs, the “Guardian” writes: “Einstein’s letter should make the coldest reader understand that the future of the Palestine state is closely and inextricably associated with the happiness of the Jewish race, but it should make the coldest reader understand that it is also inextricably associated with the self-respect of the British people. Many of the arrangements into which we entered ten years ago at the Peace Conference may be blamed as selfish and grasping, but the Palestine Mandate was undertaken as a solemn duty by the government. There must be no hesitation about the task we then accepted. We accepted it not in the belief that the creation of a home for the Jewish people was an experiment to be tried today and thrown over tomorrow, but in the sense that British statesmanship could lay the foundation of a stable, tolerant and progressive state. We stand before the world, pledged to our promise. We hold a commission from the League of Nations. We have given our word to the Jews, and on the strength of it, they have made efforts described by Professor Einstein.
“It is not always wrong or always undignified for a nation to step back. On the contrary it is right and dignified to step back when our duty to others demands it,” the editorial continues, “but to step back from a task such as this because we find it difficult and think it may be expensive, on the ground that it is demanded by our duty to ourselves, would be an act of cowardice, bringing upon us everlasting shame,” it concludes.
A campaign for $150,000 for the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of Toronto, Canada, will be launched on October 28 and continue to the end of the month. Percy Hermant is chairman of the drive.
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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.
