The Jewish Agency will demand the establishment of an independent Jewish State in Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly in September, it was revealed here today by Goldie Meirson, addressing the Jewish National Assembly.
Reporting on the political activities of the Agency, Mrs. Meirson, political chief of the Agency’s Jerusalem section, said that the United Nations will also be urged to request Britain to abolish the White Paper and carry out the terms of the Mandate during the transition period until a Jewish State is established. The implementation of the Mandate is the sole justification and the legal ground for British rule in Palestine, she declared.
A spirited debate on the question of bi-nationalism developed following Mrs. Neirson’s report. The discussion, which will be continued tomorrow, reflected the attitude of the various political parties to the stand taken by the Soviet Government at the U.N. Mrs. Meirson said that Soviet delegate Andrei Gromyko’s statement acknowledging the right of the Jews to statehood was of extreme importance from an international viewpoint.
PLEASED WITH GROMYKO’S ATTITUDE; PUZZLED BY U.S. STAND AT U.N.
“We could never understand why a big powerful nation like the Soviet Union, which is building its country according to its own will, did not understand our needs and aspirations,” Mrs. Meirson stated. “We, however, hope that this tragic misunderstanding has come to an end now.” She praised the attitude taken at the U.N. by the representatives of Poland, Sweden, Norway and the Latin American countries, but said that she was puzzled by the stand taken by the delegation of the United States.
“I cannot imagine that the silence of the United States at this stage means forgetfulness of all pledges made by a number of presidents, of the Palestine resolutions passed in Congress and the declarations on Palestine made by the Democratic and Republican parties,” she said.
Disputes of the Aliyah Chadasha, the New Settlers Party, voiced opposition to what they described as “the shifting of the interest of Palestine Jewry towards the East.” They demanded that the Agency continue to follow the Western democracies.
Hashomer Hatzair representatives insisted that bi-nationalism is the best solution of the Palestine problem, since it offers an opportunity for reaching an Arab-Jewish rapprochement, which, they said, must come sooner or later.
Leaders of the Mapai, the Jewish Labor Party, argued that only an independent Jewish State can secure adequate Jewish immigration into the country and unrestricted development.
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.
