Turkish Ship Leaves Rumania for Palestine with 540 Jews; 5,000 Will Be Admitted

A Turkish ship carrying 540 Jews from the Rumanian port of Constanza to Palestine is now en route here under a Red Cross flag, it was reported today. It was also announced that 5,000 Jews from Rumania will be admitted to Palestine under the 10,300 immigration quota just granted to the Jewish Agency by the Palestine Government.

At a press conference today, Moshe Shertok, head of the political department of the Jewish Agency, stated that the 10,300 immigration certificates are for individuals only and not for families, and that they were alloted under the provisions of the White Paper. The Jewish Agency, he declared, will do everything in its power to break the White Paper provisions which close the doors of Palestine to further immigration. “We shall fight in order to achieve mass-immigration,” he declared.

The Palestine Government, Shertok revealed, has not yielded to the demand of the Jewish Agency that the monthly quota of 1,500 immigrants until the end of this year be increased. He attached special importance to the fact that the government agreed to admit Jews from Italy and not only Jewish refugees from there. This means that the balance of the immigration certificates under the White Paper are no longer limited to refugees only.

Today’s press conference marked the opening of the recruiting campaign started by the Jewish Agency for volunteers for the Jewish Brigade. Shertok denied at the conference that Lord Strabolgi had anything to do with the formation of the brigade. He said that he knew nothing about where the brigades will fight, but that the Jewish Agency relied on Churchill’s announcement that it will participate in the occupation of Germany and will remain there with the occupation forces after hostilities cease.