The creation of a volunteer army for Palestine, to be known as the Roosevelt Brigade, which would be composed of former GI’s, was urged upon President Truman in a resolution adopted today at the 37th annual convention of the Order Bnei Zion.
The resolution says that more “troops in Palestine are unnecessary,” but “in order to ease the mind of Mr. Bevin, we urge upon President Truman as commander-in-chief of our armed forces to issue a call for the organization of a special volunteer division of GI’s for service in the Holy Land, to be named the Roosevelt Brigade.”
Another resolution adopted by the convention expressed “appreciation to President Truman for the tenacity with which he is fighting for the immediate admission of 100,000 displaced persons into Palestine.” Louis Lipsky, president of the organization, speaking on the resolution said that only a few on the inside know how uncompromisingly the President was standing by his demand.
Mayor Vincert J. Murphy of Newark, secretary of the New Jersey Federation of Labor, addressing the convention, urged Zionists to appeal to the House of Representatives to exact a promise from Britain that no part of the proposed British loan would be utilized in the Middle or Near East to hamper the Jewish people “in their gallant fight for the return of their homeland.”
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