Anticipating new outbreaks in Jerusalem in connection with the drastic measures which the British Government contemplates using to prevent further entry of Jews into Palestine, army engineering units today started to fortify the center of the city converting it into a citadel surrounded by barbed-wire fences and pillboxes.
The action coincides with the arrival at Haifa of the British cruiser, Ajax, and with an air-and-sea blockade instituted today along the eastern shores of the Mediterranean. British warships and planes will attempt to prevent vessels carrying Jewish refugees from reaching here.
It was indicated here in British circles that war-time blockade tactics which were applied against the Italians and Germans will now be used against Jews attempting to enter Palestine “illegally.” It was predicted that specially armed boarding parties will be placed on all British destroyers, corvettes and other ships in the Mediterranean patrolling the sea lanes on which Jewish refugees from Europe are thought to be sailing for Palestine.
These crews, it was stated, will be placed aboard the intercepted vessels and will be responsible for maintaining order on route to pre-arranged destinations other than Palestine. They will be equipped to prevent active resistance by the passengers.
In addition to appealing to Soviet and Rumanian authorities to prevent the movement of Jews from Constanza and other Rumanian ports to Palestine, the British Government today also sent similar appeals to France and Italy from which ships bearing Jewish refugees have sailed for Palestine. Other governments have also been asked by Britain to aid in preventing Jewish refugees from leaving for Palestine.
JEWS ANNOUNCE THEY WILL RESIST BLOCKADE OF REFUGEE SHIPS
The Jewish National Council of Palestine, now in session here, today declared that Jews would resist all measures aimed at preventing refugee ships from trying to reach Palestine “with the last ounce of their effort.” It declared that all Jews in Palestine consider themselves responsible for the immigration of men and women “now fleeing from the poisoned atmosphere of Europe” and for their absorption in Palestine.
In a resolution adopted at today’s session, the Council demanded the immediate release of the imprisoned leaders of the Jewish Agency executive and other leaders of Palestine Jewry now held at the Latrun camp. The resolution sharply criticized the recent statement by British military authorities that the whole Jewish community was responsible for the blasting of the King David Hotel. It charged that Jewish curfew breakers were maltreated in Jerusalem military prisons, and protested against the withdrawal by the authorities of the traditional right of Jews to pray at the Wailing Wall on Tisha B’av.
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.
