President Truman has summoned the four American members of the Jewish Agency to meet with him tomorrow morning at the White House to discuss the present Palestine situation.
The President’s action was revealed by Dr. Nahum Goldmann, political director of the Jewish Agency in America, who told a press conference here that he, Dr. Abba Hillel Silver, Dr. Stephen S. Wise and Louis Lipsky will give the President their appraisal of the situation and will discuss a letter sent to Mr. Truman two weeks ago concerning implementation of the recommendation that 100,000 Jews be admitted into Palestine.
The group of State and War Department experts who returned from London over the week-end were to meet with the President’s Cabinet Committee on Palestine this afternoon to discuss the results of their conferences with British experts.
This morning the State Department issued another statement reiterating that it had no advance information that the Palestine Government was planning to raid the Jewish Agency. A Department spokesman said that Ambassador Harriman’s cable of June 19, which was purported to contain a warning that Britain was planning to act against the Agency, contained no mention of what steps the British planned to take.
Dr. Goldmann told reporters that the British charge of terrorism was only a “pretext.” He said the real purpose of the British action, was first to divert attention from the “burning issue” of immediate admission of the 100,000 Jews and American support, thus focusing attention on Jewish terrorist activities. Secondly, he said, they want to disarm the Jews, leaving them powerless to protect themselves from Arab uprisings.
The Jewish Agency will continue to function, Goldmann promised, although he said he was afraid of a situation of permanent hostility toward Britain. “If after 25 years of cooperating with them, Great Britain destroys what we have built up in Palestine we will fight against the British,” he declared emphatically.
He stated that despite the arrests of Jewish leaders, the Jewish Agency will continue its work, aided by members from outside Palestine, some of whom including himself will try to go there to replace those arrested.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
