The Palestine Emergency Committee today announced it had protested to the State Department against the “wanton” bombing of the open city of Tel Aviv. The committee’s statement follows.
“The bombing of the undefended city of Tel Aviv, resulting in the murder of scores of peaceful inhabitants, by the Italian air force constitutes an act of savagery which will be condemned by all civilized peoples.
“The city of Tel Aviv, whose population is 160,000, includes a large number of Jews who sought refuge there from relentless persecution. With the aid of Jews from all parts of the world, especially from America, the settlers have built a thriving community and a center of civilization on what was a strip of desert.
“It contains no objectives of a military nature which can be used as an excuse for military operations. It is an open city, which, by all rules of warfare, should have been spared the savagery of war.
“The Palestine Emergency Committee, consisting of representatives of the Zionist Organization of America, Hadassah, Mizrachi and Poale Zion, protest against this wanton destruction of life and property in direct violation of all international covenants and the elementary principles of humanity.
“The Committee has communicated this protest to State Department.”
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
