Prime Minister Jan Christian Smuts and members of his cabinet stressed the great contribution made by Jews throughout the world to the Allied war effort, in messages issued here on the occasion of the High Holidays.
The Prime Minister said: “In the great struggle to which South Africa, together with other freedom-loving nations, contributed, the Jews of the world and of South Africa played their part. It is with a feeling of deep gratitude that I send good wishes for the New Year to our Jewish comrades-in-arms and our Jewish friends generally.
Minister of Justice Colin Steyn, declaring that “Jews had made far more than their proportion of sacrifice,” said: “Hard as many people were hit, they were hit the hardest. In every field of war activity they contributed at least their proportionate share, and on every battlefield sacrificed their sons in as great a proportion as any race. The time has come for them to receive a practical reward. I trust that the United Nations will realize that the time is overdue for the creation of a free and independent Jewish state in Palestine.”
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.
