JEWS’ ATTITUDE TO BRITAIN

Press, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 25274, 28 August 1947, Page 6

JEWS’ ATTITUDE TO BRITAIN

VIEW OF RABBI FROM JERUSALEM

PAIN CAUSED BY RETURN OF REFUGEES (P.A.) AUCKLAND, August 27. The great majority of Jews in Palestine, particularly those who had lived there longest, were not anti-British, said Grand Rabbi Israel Halberstam, of Jerusalem, who is on a brief visit to New Zealand. The great majority was also opposed to terrorism, he said. Most of the Palestine Jews were friends of Britain, and this friendship was signified, among other ways, in prayers for the British and for the Royal Family, which were regularly offered in all synagogues. The Jews regarded Britain as the greatest of democratic nations. They were against terrorism because terrorism was against their religion, and they realised that by the use of this weapon they could not succeed in their desire to secure Palestine as their national home. Although he said he did not condone the actions of terrorists. Grand Rabbi Halberstam said their psychology must be understood. About 6,000,000 Jews had been killed by Nazis and about 400,000 were left at the end of the war in concentration camps. These survivors had not only suffered physically but also mentally by the death of relatives. They had lost their reasoning power and felt that it was only through terrorism that they could gain entrance to Palestine. “Political Reasons” “To send these people back to the same place from which they had tried to escape causes great pain to all Jewry throughout the world,” the Grand Rabbi added. “Jews acknowledge that the British Government is not doing this because of anti-semi-tism but because of political reasons. We feel that when it comes to the treatment of human beings politics should not be considered.” Grand Rabbi Halbertsam said the Jewish Agency was doing all it could within its powers to combat terrorism. If it was given certain privileges and if present injustices were mitigated, its moral strength to fight these dissident elements would be greatly increased.

Asked to elaborate this statement, the Grand Rabbi said the agency’s strength would be greatly increased if restrictions were relaxed on the entry of Jews from Europe. The Haganah was unable to cope as effectively as it might with terrorists because the anns niSatl ° n WaS nOt permitted to have