Addressing a meeting today of the Small Zionist Actions Committee, called to discuss the notes submitted to the Jewish Agency yesterday by the British and American Governments, Dr. Chaim Weizmann declared that the report of the Anglo-American inquiry committee offers no solution of the Palestine problem.
He added, however, that if the recommendations for immediate admittance of 100,000 Jews from Europe and removal of the land restrictions were carried out, it would open the door to renewed efforts by Jews to develop the country. At the same time, he urged that the time and place of the World Zionist Congress–which is scheduled to open here on Aug. 7–be changed.
The meeting of the Actions Committee followed by a few hours the conclusion of a special session of the Jewish Agency, which was convened last night following receipt of the U.S. note, and which continued until early this morning.
The general Jewish reaction to the British and American invitations to the Jews and Arabs to give their views on the report was expressed by the Hebrew newspapers, which said that the move was designed to gain time, since the attitude of both the Jews and the Arabs was well known.
Arab reaction was equally unfavorable. Dr. Izzat Tennous, secretary of the Arab Higher Committee, said that the Arabs had already given their views on the re- port in statements to the press and in telegrams to the United States and British Governments. He reiterated that the Arabs felt that the recommendations were “biased and unfair.”
The United States was charged with being the real villan in the piece in a statement issued by Auni Bey Abdul, Hadi, Arab extremist leader. He said that the Arabs believed that Britain was acting under pressure from the United States and were attempting to sacrifice their moral obligations to the Arabs to satisfy American election problems.
The Jewish Agency, which is going ahead with its plans to receive large numbers of immigrants in the near future, despite the unclear status of the committee’s recommendations, has already placed orders for 1,600 prefabricated houses in Sweden. They will cost $4,000,000.
The already tight housing situation in Palestine may grow even worse in the near future, if, as rumored here, British military headquarters in the Middle East are moved from Cairo to Jerusalem. There is no official confirmation, however, of the projected transfer.
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.
