A 31-hour ban on all Jewish traffic into and out of Tel Aviv was imposed by the military authorities today in punishment for a shooting attack by Jews upon Arabs. There were no casualties in the shooting. Only milk trucks and emergency cases are exempt from the ban, which went into effect at noon today and ends at seven o’clock tomorrow evening.
Jewish circles declared that such punishment had never been imposed on Arabs for attacks on Jews.
Meanwhile, an Arab was shot and seriously wounded near the railway station in Tel Aviv.
The praesidium of the Jewish National Council, at a press conference, deplored “any irresponsible individual violence,” but protested against the action of the authorities in taking collective punitive measures against Jews. The praesidium outlined measures to implement its policy of non-cooperation with Britain’s Palestine policy, as announced on May 23, immediately where feasible.
One indication of Palestine Jewry’s resentment over the policy appeared today when Isaac Ben Zvi, president of the Council, wrote to High Commissioner Sir Harold A. MacMichael declining an invitation of attend the High Commissioner’s garden party on June 8 in honor of King George’s birthday but asking that he convey to the King the Jewish community’s blessing and assurances of loyalty to the Crown. The Chief Rabbinate proclaimed special prayers in synagogues throughout Palestine for the King on June 8.
A British police inspector, Harry Goddard, charged with conspiring to aid illegal immigration, was arraigned before Chief Magistrate Burke and committed for trial before the Jerusalem District Court.
Meanwhile, the Hebrew daily Haboker reported that a steamship with an estimated 1,000 refugees aboard had escaped capture by a patrolling warship off Ness Ziona.
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.
