General Jan Christian Smuts, South African statesman and friend of Zionism, now visiting in the United States, declared yesterday that he expected to make a statement covering all vital angles of the Palestine situation at the luncheon to be given him Friday in New York by the Zionist Organization of America. He made this statement in replying to greetings extended him by a delegation of Washington Zionists headed by Isidor Hershfield.
Such a statement he has been intentionally reserving for Friday, General Smuts added, indicating that his remarks so far to the various Zionist delegations received by him were only of a brief and informal nature. He also explained that he had not made a statement while in London because the Inquiry Commission was still in session and he therefore felt he could more appropriately state his views in New York.
Something of what he may say with regard to his opinion of the Palestine situation General Smuts disclosed when he expressed a strikingly reassuring attitude respecting the future of the Zionist position as affected by the recent disorders. “I am quite at ease in my own mind that the outlook is all right. I have no doubt whatever. The fears that have been entertained are groundless. The position in Palestine will be all right. I have reason for saying it…,” he stated.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.