The American Jewish press continues to voice its opposition to the attempts of the Palestine government to get control of the news sources to and from Palestine. The most recent comments on the cancellation of the concession granted the Palestine Telegraphic Agency in that country by the Palestine government, has come from the Chicago “Jewish Sentinel,” the Philadelphia “Jewish World,” Canadian “Jewish Eagle,” and the Toledo “Israelite.”
Speaking of the suppression of the P. T. A. service, the Toledo “Israelite” says:
“We hear with surprise and regret that the Palestinian government has cancelled the concession of the P. T. A. news service for Palestine and will take over that service itself.
“We cannot understand this action on the part of the government. The P. T. A., as part of the J. T. A., has done such excellent work in keeping the world informed about the happenings in Palestine that it has received praise from both the American and the European press.
“We have been informed on every thing that was taking place in Palestine. The whole news has come to us, unbiased, unpredudiced.”
The Philadelphia “Jewish World” says:
“Among the many unfriendly, if not hostile actions of the Luke administration against Jewish interests in Palestine, there should be put on record the action against the Jewish Telegraphic Agency.
“The Palestine Telegraphic Agency, most likely committed a wrong, in the eyes of Luke, by distributing news that does not appeal to him; especially the reports about the tragic events in Palestine, the behavior of certain officers in the Luke administration, and about him personally.
“Not only did he do that, but his administration sought to exert its influence on the London ‘Times,’ to get it to discharge Gershon Agronsky from his position as correspondent because Agronsky is the representative of the J. T. A. in Palestine….
“Such an action must call forth the sharpest protest from all right-minded people. That amounts to forbidding that the truth about the events in Palestine should be reported to the outside world. There are not sufficient words to condemn such an action. This should not be allowed!”
The Chicago “Sentinel” writes:
“At the sessions of the Inquiry Commission appointed by the Colonial Office to probe the origin of the outbreaks in Palestine, Sir Boyd Merriman, counsel for the Jewish Agency, has been endeavoring to show that the British administration in Palestine has been favoring the Arabs in many respects. The administration is naturally not inclined to admit that such a policy has ever existed in Palestine, and it has even appointed counsel to defend its tactics. However, what shall one say after learning that the Palestine administration is even now stifling the freedom of the press? Thus it has come to light that the Palestine administration has made a strong attempt to exert pressure on the London Times’ to cancel its contract with Gershon Agronsky as its correspondent in Palestine….
Cancelled Concession to J. T. A.
“But the Palestine administration has not stopped here. It has also cancelled a concession which it has made in good faith to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency to waive the terminal charge of cables which this organization receives in Palestine from the Reuter press service in return for furnishing news from the Middle East to this organization. The Palestine government plainly says that it alone wishes to handle news from the Holy Land. We can designate such a policy only as autocratic and reminiscent of the Czaristic regime… The careful observer cannot but feel that the officials at Government House in Jerusalem have much to hide. If these gentlemen think that such tactics are conducive to increase the prestige of Great Britain in civilized countries, they are greatly mistaken.”
The Canadian “Eagle,” speaking about “A Censor on the J. T. A.,” says:
“The government of Palestine decided to show a certain amount of strength in dealing with the situation in the country. But that strength is so far shown not in severe measures to stop the terror of Arabian hooliganism, but in something else. It is expressed in its desire to take under control public opinion and to introduce a censor.
“That censor, it appears, is to a very great extent used against the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, which is the only agent distributing Jewish news over the whole world….
Motives Unjustifiable
“One can understand the motives of the official authorities. They do not want the Jewish world, and through it, public opinion, to learn about the true situation in Palestine through purely Jewish sources, because that may place the situation in its natural light. That does not mean, however, that such motives are justifiable and that the government may use such tactics….
“From the standpoint of British justice, it is particularly difficult to understand what may move the Palestine government to such a step. We here, living in a British country, and acquainted with British procedure-to us, it appears strange and extraordinary. We know that freedom of public opinion and freedom of the press cannot be so easily blown away with the wind in a British country. And that which goes for many British countries, should also apply to Palestine. Also there, may be applied that which we call ‘British fair play.’
“The whole Jewish world will strongly oppose such a measure. In normal times and even in less than normal times, a government cannot allow itself to do such a thing as suppression of a telegraphic agency. If the situation in Palestine is therefore even less than normal-and that, all will admit,-the government should not desire to suppress the J. T. A. and to seek instead of its non-partisan reports, to give us censored news. The Jewish world is entitled to get from Palestine news through Jewish sources, news not officially colored, but natural.”
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.
