The use of “the strength, the courage, the devoted loyalty of 100,000 Jews in Palestine” was advocated by Rep. Elmer J. Holland of Pennsylvania, speaking on the floor of the House of Representatives.
“Militarily, this waste of 100,000 fighting men already on the ground of crucial action is absurd,” he said. “It cannot be defended. Morally, this denial of the right of self-defense to the Jews of Palestine is wicked. It cannot be defended…It is just and fitting that a Jewish army march with those who will some day parade in victory in the streets of Berlin.”
Rep. Herman P. Eberharter of Pennsylvania congratulated Holland on his address and pointed out that the plan for a Jewish army does not contemplate the enlistment of Jews in the United States or any other country where they are permitted to serve freely in the armed forces of the United Nations. Rep. Andrew Somers of New York said he thought the speech would prove “most heartening to the oppressed people of the world.”
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.
