Silver Puzzled by Ben Gurion’s Reported Proposal for Palestine Partition

Puzzled by reports from Palestine of David Ben ##on’s advocacy of the partitioning of Palestine into a Jewish state and continuation of the British mandate in the remainder of the country, Dr. Abba Hillel Silver, ##man of the American branch of the Jewish Agency and head of the American Zionist Agency Council, issued a statement emphasizing that the Jewish Agency “has never ##oved any such proposal.” The statement reads:

“Numerous inquiries have reached me concerning press reports of a statement instituted to David Ben Gurion, chairman of the executive of the Jewish Agency in Jerusalem, favoring the establishment of a Jewish state in those parts of Palestine ## have been settled by Jews as well as the Negev, and continuation of the Mandate the sections which Jews have not colonized.

“I find it difficult to credit these reports inasmuch as the executive of the Jewish Agency has never approved any such proposal, nor has the executive any authorite do so. The case of the Jewish Agency was officially present##es, including Mr. Ben Gurion, at the recent special session of the United Nations. ##e has been no change in policy since then. The same case, more fully documented, ## undoubtedly be presented to the committee of inquiry of the United Nations un## the General Council of the movement should prescribe a different course.

“Our movement has taken no position favoring either partition or bi-national## If the committee of inquiry should propose these or any other solutions, our ##ment will have full opportunity to consider them and determine its attitude. It ##ld be regretable to have the situation made more difficult now by confusing ver##s of our position. We stand and will continue to stand upon the full Zionist program as adopted by the Zionist Congress at Basle, and as subsequently re-affirmed the executive of the Jewish Agency at its recent plenary session in Jerusalem.”