my sincere regret that after so many years of devoted toil you have thought it necessary to resign the presidency; the more so as I feel that in spite of our past conversations your action can only be based on an imperfect appreciation of the government’s attitude and intentions.
“On various occasions the British government has not failed to express their admiration of the work done under your auspices for the building of a Jewish National Home,” continues Lord Passfield. “The fact that the government felt bound in the present White Paper to make certain important criticisms must not be taken as a general censure of your past work as a whole.
“Nor do I think of the fair decision now taken as placing the most serious obstacles before your future work, or as intended to crystallize the development of the Jewish National Home at its present stage of development,” declares the Colonial Secretary, in answer to Weizmann’s charges. “It is expressly pointed out in the White Paper that operations of the Jewish organizations can continue without a break while more general steps for a development in which Jews and Arabs can share alike are being worked out.”
REPRESENTATIONS CONSIDERED
Answering the accusation that the government did not consult the Jews before making so momentous a decision of policy, Lord Passfield said, “The government did not act without consulting you in advance. Your representations, including those made verbally to myself, were duly considered, and so far as they related to a statement of policy, have led to certain changes in wording in that document. In so far as they were related to schemes of development and other matters they will be carefully borne in mind. I cannot, of course, give any assurance that the government will find it possible to give them effect.”
Dr. Weizmann refused to agree that his talk with Lord Passfield might be considered as an advance consultation on the White Paper. In his reply on Oct. 29 to Lord Passfield’s letter of the 25th, he said, “I have read and reread the White Paper searching for an interpretation which could supply a basis for continuing cooperation with the British government, for which I stood for so many years. But I utterly failed to find such an interpretation.
“My representations which, you say, influenced certain changes in the wording of the White Paper, were of a general character only and could not deal specifically with the terms of a statement of which I had at that time no cognizance.
“Looking back, I regret that my appeal for an interview on Oct. 18 met only with the answer that it was out of your power to make any changes in the forthcoming statement. Concrete representations could only have been made with a knowledge of the contents
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.
