Thousands Unemployed As Industry and Commerce Slow Down in Areas Under Martial Law

As 300,000 Jews in Jerusalem completed their third day under martial law, industry and commerce in the areas under military control were badly disrupted with thousands thrown out of work as factories slowed down or came to a halt, food stocks were depleted and banks closed following heavy withdrawals. The rigid security measures, however, did not succeed in halting the activities of the Irgun Zvai Leumi.

In Jerusalem it was officially announced that the curfew in the quarters under military rule would be lifted daily between the hours of 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. The Jewish institutions called on the inhabitants to do their utmost to return to normal living, announcing that arrangements were being made for the delivery of food and milk. They stressed they were continuing to intercede with the authorities to suspend various restrictions.

Four thousand workers were thrown out of work in Tel Aviv and Petach Tikvah, and a number of plants in the latter city closed because of a shortage of raw materials, vice-mayor Shlomo Shtamper told newsmen today. In Remath Gan, which is also under military control, 6,000 workers face unemployment unless raw materials arrive within a few days, Mayor A. Krinitzi declared.

A meeting of the municipal council and representatives of public economic organizations in Tel Aviv demanded the lifting of martial law which “is punishing thousands of innocent people.” The ban on import and export of “non-essential goods,” which in effect has spread to practically all goods, is threatening to paralyze 90 percent of the Jewish industries in Tel Aviv and the satellite towns, Jewish circles declared.

A high military official in Tel Aviv told a press conference that no provision for the import of raw materials had been made not was contemplated even if unemployment results. He disclosed that 5,000 passes have been issued to essential workers and that 7,000 applications are under consideration. He praised the attitude of Mayor Israel Rokach and the municipal council toward the military regime, but hedged that “this does not mean full cooperation from the populate.”

CONVOY OF TANKS, ARMORED CARS BRINGS $32,000,000 TO TEL AVIV

The banks in Tel Aviv, which were open yesterday, were closed today because of a shortage of cash. Shortly after noon a military convoy of tanks, Bren gun carriers, and hundreds of soldiers escorted 25 armored trucks carrying $32,000,000 from Jerusalem banks to Tel Aviv. Several thousand troops threw a cordon around the financial district as the money was transferred to the banks, which announced that they would be open for business tomorrow.

The precautions taken by the thousands of British soldiers were apparently incapable of halting the Irgun either inside or outside the Tel Aviv area. In the city, the underground group distributed leaflets announcing a series of attacks on British military installations and trucks. On a radio broadcast, apparently originating in the area, Menahem Beigin, commander of the Irgun, issued an “order of the day” calling on his forces to “stand like iron against the assault of the enemy,” and announcing that the “war” would not be over until the British left. Shortly after his broadcast an urgent call was radiced to patrol cars in the city to track down the Irgun transmitter.

The leaflets, which were also distributed in Haifa, called on the Jews to rally around the dissident organizations and expressed the hope that the United States, the Soviet Union, France and other “freedom loving nations” would assist the Jews in driving the British out of Palestine. They also expressed regrets that Arabs had been injured during attacks.

IRGUN ATTACKS MILITARY IRATALLATIONS, VEHICLES DURING NIGHT

Last night’s attacks were led off by a raid on British military headquarters in Haifa during which several men in a car drew up before the building and tossed in five hand grenades. No casualties resulted from the action, nor were any of the raiders captured. Earlier, a curfew had been clamped down on all roads in the Haifa vicinity.

A landmine blew up a military truck carrying a party of Arab workers to a satellite base near the sarafand army base, wounding four. Near Hadera a military camp was attacked by a party armed with email, arms. Two British soldiers were wounded. Three more were injured when a military truck was blown up on the main road near Rishon LeZion.

The Haganah’s underground radio, “Voice of Israel,” loosed a blast at the Irgun and Stern Group today, stating, “we have repeatedly warned the dissindents not to cooperate with the Palestine Government, since every new outrage assists the government.” The announcer concluded with the statement that “regardless of provocations from within or without” the community, vicaless immigration would continue.

In Jerusalem eleven Jews were taken to prison for an unspecified period of detention following earlier questioning of 60 persons rounded up in the area of the Goldamith officers club explosion. The eleven are suspected of either having participated in the attack or of being members of the Irgun Zvai Leumi. An anonymous caller warned the newspaper Haaretz that bombs had been planted in the Jerusalem Central Prison and in the Palestine Broadcasting Service building. A thorough search of both places uncovered no explosives.

One of the many vital activities which were disrupted by the iron restrictions of the military was the burying of the dead. Twelve persons have died in Tel Aviv and two in Jerusalem during the past three days, but could not be buried. Permission has been granted for funerals tomorrow morning, but the number of mourners is limited to four or five. In Jerusalem where the cemeteries are on the Mount of Clives, outside the area under martial law, special permits will be required to pass through the military barriers.