Thousands of Jews in this city last night participated in a mass rally to celebrate the imminent establishment of a Jewish state. The meeting was sponsered jointly by the South African Zionist Federation and the Board of Deputies of South African Jews.
Government officials, lead by Minister of Justice Colin Steyn, congratulated the Jews and expressed pride at the part played by Premier Jan Christian Smuts in the establishment of a Jewish homeland. Bernard Gering, chairman of the Zionist federation, also thanked Smuts for helping frame the Balfour Declaration and his active role in subsequent developments.
During the meeting a plane dropped leaflets, signed by the Anti-Partition League, bitterly attacking Jewish acquiescence to a partition decision as a “betrayal” of Jewish aspirations.
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