Four hundred Jews from all parts of Britain today called on their representatives in Parliament to protest the arrests of Jewish leaders in Palestine and the attacks on Jewish settlements. The group stationed itself in the lobby of the House of Commons and interviewed members as they arrived.
The London press today reports that Under-Secretary for Foreign Affairs Hector McNeil has departed for Paris where he will confer with Foreign Secretary Ernest Bevin on the Palestine situation.
The Archbishop of Canterbury today voiced support for the British Government’s actions in Palestine, asserting that Prime Minister Clement Attlee had justified the Government’s stand. He asserted that the action was not anti-Semitic and said that it was supported by such people as himself who regard racialism as “devilish poison.” He insisted that Palestine could not solve the problem of 500,000 Jews and displaced persons still in Germany, and called for a declaration of policy on Palestine.
The liberal News Chronicle today urged the British Government to accept without reservation the recommendations of the Anglo-American inquiry committee, including the proposal that 100,000 Jews be admitted immediately to Palestine. The newspaper pointed out that the government could, coincident with its campaign to bring the military situation in Palestine “in hand,” remove the cause of violence and unrest.
It suggested that negotiations by top-ranking government officials be undertaken to settle the problem of a Jewish-Arab state. It also proposed that all countries of the United Nations open their doors to Jewish immigration and that a charter of human rights be drawn up to protect Jews who remain in Europe as well as elsewhere.
William Callacher, Communist Member of Parliament, has sent a letter to Prime Minister Attlee appealing for the release of the arrested Palestinian Jews, and urging the government to retreat from its “dangerous and discreditable course” in that country. He added that “sooner or later we will yet see justice done and the age-long desire of the Jewish people for peace and freedom from the danger of the criminal canker of anti-Semitism realized.”
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.
