Chief Rabbi Isaac Herzog of Palestine today conferred with Prime Minister Clement R. Attlee, and said at the conclusion of the interview that the Palestine situation seemed difficult but not “beyond repair.”
During the half-hour interview, Rabbi Herzog reiterated his appeal that the British Government and people reconsider the Jewish stake in Palestine. In a message sent through the Jewish Telegraphic Agency he appealed to the Jews of Palestine to remain calm in this “hour of supreme test.”
A day of protest against the British Government’s actions in Palestine will be observed Sunday throughout Britain. Large street demonstrations and public mass meetings have been announced in London, Glasgow, Liverpool and other major British cities.
It was learned today that the Palestine committee of the Board of Deputies of British Jews has suggested that joint consultations be held early next week by the Board of Deputies, the World Jewish Congress, the Anglo-Jewish Association, and the Agudas Israel in order to arrive at a common stand on the Palestine issue.
The Association today issued a statement pledging support to the government in measures “which can be shown to be indispensable to public order and security,” but stressing that arrests are justifiable only if it can be shown that those arrested are reasonably suspected of being implicated in violence. It declared that repression cannot be the last word, and urged the government to announce that it will carry out the recommendations of the inquiry committee, after reaching an agreement on American cooperation. The statement reiterated the Association’s policy of supporting neither an Arab nor a Jewish state.
The British Communist Party today demanded the release of all those arrested in Palestine, unless the authorities are able to file specific charges against them. At the same time, it called for the United Nations to assume jurisdiction over the Palestine problem and added: “Palestine must become an independent state, safeguarding the interests of Jews and Arabs alike.” The Communist statement said that in the interim, Britain and the United States should open their gates to distressed people.
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.
