The United States was called upon to demand the withdrawal of the Passfield White Paper by Charles Edward Russell, noted writer and one-time Socialist candidate for governor of New York, in a speech bitterly attacking Great Britain at the protest meeting of Washington Jewry at the Jewish Community Center here last night.
“If it is right for the United States to send marines to Nicaragua to protect the investments of banking firms, then it is right for the United States to defend the investments of its citizens in Palestine,” said Russell. Russell urged the Jews to continue the present worldwide wave of protest as the most effective weapon at their disposal, assuring them of the sympathy of enlightened non-Jews. “Be not only strong and resolute in your protest—be insistent,” he declared. “It seems to me that you hold the power to sway in this country. You should have thousands of protest meetings such as this one. All Jews should protest and insist upon justice and rights. No government could be deaf to such an appeal.”
Jacob de Haas attacked Great Britain’s system of colonial administration in Palestine, which he said frustrated the carrying out of the Balfour Declaration and the Mandate. Other speakers included a number of local rabbis, Isaac Hamlin and Isidore Hershfield, who acted as chairman. A resolution was adopted protesting against the action of the Labor government in issuing the White Paper.
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