Evening star., 1946-08-08
Letters to The Star
Blames the British Governmen,

Blames the British Government
For Desperation of the Jews
To the Editor OF The Star:
When people motivated by humane
ideals and keen sense of justice resort
to violence to attain their ends, it Is
necessary that the world at large under
stand the conditions that have driven
them to these acts. For deeds OF vio-
lence are but acts OF frustrated and
or gentle, will condone the bombing of
the King David Hotel in Jerusalem and
the killing of about 100 men and women.
In the words of Gen. Barker, British
commander in Palestine, TT is foul
and horrible crime, shameful and
barbarous act"
But, what is the record of the British
government in Palestine? In 1917 this
government. through its Minister of
Foreign Affairs, issued what is known
as the Balfour Declaration, by which
the British government pledged to the
Jewish people the building of Jewish
national home in Palestine. Many other
distinguished British statesmen, includ-
ing Winston Churchill himself, repeat
edly have gone on record in the name
OF the British people to the effect that
the Jewish national homeland will be
established in Palestine and that the
Holy Land once again will become
the domain of Jewish religious, national
and cultural life.
With this in view. Great Britain
assumed the mandate over Palestine,
signed by 81 nations, constituting the
League OF Nations, and indorsed by
every President of the United States
from Woodrow Wilson to Franklin D.
Roosevelt.
Before the recent war the plight of
the Jewish community in Europe was
sad and tragic enough. During this war.
100000 Jews were gassed, burned,
buried alive or slowly starved or worked
to death. The tragedy of the Jews Is
frightfully acute. They have lost more
than one-third of their entire world
population, and in Poland, where they
still are being murdered, they have lost
more than 80 per cent of their entire
community. There are only few hum
dred thousand left in Europe, and these
could migrate either to Palestine or to
America or to other parts of the world.
1t was the British themselves who
insisted upon the setting up of Com
mission Of Inquiry on Palestine and
promised in advance that the British
government would carry out whatever
decision was arrived at by this commits
sion. But, instead, this government has
been guilty of subterfuge after subter-
fuge and has failed to carry out the
promise to admit 100000 refugees into
Palestine. And at the same time, this
British government pounces upon the
Jewish community of Palestine, arrests
responsible leaders and innocent men,
women and children. even abusing them
In the harshest manner.
To those unfortunate few hundred
thousand who have survived the Nazi
terror. who have been uprooted from
their homes, torn from their families,
worked and starved almost to death by
Nazi tyrants, who have seen their near
est and dearest murdered, burned and
gassed before their very eyes, what hope
is there left except to go to Palestine? !?
1t Is perhaps the one hope that is keep
ing them alive.
A year has passed since their liberia
ton, still they are fed in breadlines,
like paupers, still at meager tables OF
possibly unsympathetic and anti-Se-
mitic officials. OF course. they must be
in utter desperation and this ought to
explain to us the state OF mind of the
Jews of Palestine
EI,IZARETH CERT IN