50,000 Jews in Jerusalem Gather at Herzl’s Grave; Take Oath of Allegiance to City

Fifty thousand Jews of Jerusalem gathered today at the burial place of Dr. Theodor Herzl here and repeated the ancient oath of allegiance to Jerusalem, “If I Forget Thee Oh Jerusalem.” Heading the five-mile-long procession which proceeded from the new city to Mt. Herzl were the Israel Chief Rabbis, officials of the Jewish Agency, municipality leaders and other prominent Jerusalemites.

Thousands of children in the demonstration carried banners expressing opposition to internationalization of the Holy City. The flags of Israel and of the Histadrut were carried by large numbers of workers taking part in the procession. The recitation of the Biblical oath took seven minutes, after which the entire assemblage sang Hatikvah. Chief Rabbi Isaac Halevi Herzog recited the ancient oath and, with their right hands held aloft, the 50,000 Jews in the group repeated it after him.

A cable sent today by the Jewish Agency, the Chief Rabbinate, the Jerusalem municipality and the central committee of the world Mizrachi organization to President Truman and U.N. Secretary-General Trygve Lie declared: “The Jewish Agency and the World Zionist Organization announce in behalf of world Jewry their opposition to the decision (adopted by a U.N. subcommittee and calling for internationalization of Jerusalem) and pledge their eternal allegiance to Israel’s external capital, Jerusalem.

“No power in the world is able to sever the Jewish people’s natural historic ties with Jerusalem,” the message said. “Any decision to cut off Jerusalem from Israel will not be realized. The Jerusalemites’ war and Israel’s Army of Defense strengthened those ties. We demand that the General Assembly do not approve the fatal resolution which will disturb the peace and the city’s development.”

Yesterday, a demonstration was led by Chief Rabbi Herzog, S.Z. Shragai, member of the Jewish Agency executive, and Mordecai Lebanon, president of the Jeshurun Congregation. The procession wound from the Synagogue and proceeded through the city’s main streets to the United States Consulate.

Rabbi Herzog said the “world cannot rob Israel of its holiest place” and fervently appealed to the U.N. General Assembly not to adopt the internationalization plan. The plan, he said, would be “disastrous for the city, for the state, for Judaism and for the U.N.” Messrs. Shragai and Lebanon spoke in the same vein, adding that the people of Jerusalem would not accept internationalization and would go underground, adding that they would personally lead the underground.

The procession to the U.S. Consulate was composed of about 1,500 worshippers of the congregation, wrapped in their prayer shawls, with the addition of crowds waiting outside the synagogue. They marched in silence through the streets to appeal to the U.S. Government to exercise its influence to assure that Jerusalem remain Jewish.

At the same time, Sephardic Chief Rabbi Ben Zion Uziel, Mayor Daniel Auster, and M. Baran, Histadrut leader, addressed a huge meeting which passed a resolution reading: “We knew how to defend with our blood our city from destruction. We shall continue its defense.”

“SERIOUS DISTURBANCES” REPORTED AMONG ARABS IN JENIN AREA

Serious disturbances broke out over the week-end in Jenin, part of the Arab-Legion-held triangle of Jenin-Tulkarem-Nablus, according to reports from the Old City.

Details were not disclosed but it was indicated that the principals were Palestine Arab refugees and Arab adherents of the exiled Mufti of Jerusalem. The refugees were said to be complaining over the shortage of food, while the Muftile followers were understood to be demonstrating against the proposal of King Abdullah to annex the Arab parts of Palestine.