A statement supporting the plan of the Freeland League for Jewish Territorial Colonization for settlement of refugees in the Kimberleys has been issued to the press by a group of 55 prominent citizens.
“If Australia is to lay claim to being a democratic and humane nation, she cannot neglect her duties towards victims of oppression in Europe,” the statement says. “These refugees have committed no crime. It suited the brutal aims of the same men who have attacked the British Commonwealth to attack these helpless people.
“To offer them, under proper safeguards, a home in Australia would raise our moral status throughout the world. The request of the Freeland League for permission to establish a refugee settlement is a test of our Christianity, our democracy, out humanity. We urge the citizens of Australia and the Commonwealth Government to give these people the right to work alongside us in the noble task of upbuilding the country.”
Signers of the statement include B. Stevens, former Premier of New South Wales; A. Heats, former Agent-General for New South Wales in London, and Sir Philip Rogers, Lord Mayor of Sydney.
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.
