U.S. SEIZURE OF EXPLOSIVES

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25389, 12 January 1948, Page 7

U.S. SEIZURE OF EXPLOSIVES

New York Purchases

By Jewish Agency USE IN PALESTINE INTENDED

1 (N.Z. Press Association—Copyright) (Rec. 9 p.m.) NEW YORK, Jan. 10. Mr Leonard Weisman, a New York businessman, to-day identified the Jewish Agency for Palestine as the purchaser of nearly 200 tons of high explosive which the New York police seized while it was being stored for eventual shipment to Palestine.

Mr Weisman, who was questioned by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, told the press afterwards that he had helped to buy the explosives for an agent of the Haganah who had arrived in New York from Palestine in December to buy munitions and other war equipment. Mr Weisman said that the explosives he had helped to buy were those seized in the last few days, and not those seized aboard freighters at Jersey City last week. The explosives he was concerned with had been advertised for sale by the War Assets Administration as “suitable for export,” He considered it an honour, as an American and a Jew, legally to procure means of self-defence for the Palestine Jews against marauding Arabs armed with British weapons. A Jewish Agency spokesman said that steps were taken to arrange legitimate purchases of war surplus material and equipment in the United States to be rushed to Palestine, in view of the threatened Arab aggression. It had been the Agency’s understanding throughout that all such purchases and transportation were in full conformity with American law. A member of the House of Representatives, Mr James Auchincloss (Republican, New Jersey) said that he was demanding an explanation from the Secretary for War and the War Assets Administration of why explo- . sives were being declared surplus and were being sold and transported round the country, to the peril of the citizens. (The United States a few weeks ago banned the shipment of arms to the Middle East.) Police Raids The New York police now claim to have confiscated all but 89 tons of the consignment of 199 tons of Army surplus explosives which they said had been gathered by Zionists in the United States for illegal shipment to Palestine. The police in a raid on a warehouse at Asbury Park seized 5200 combat knives which were made originally for the United States Navy. The New York office of the War Assets Administration has ordered the stoppage of all shipments of explosives in the New York area and the freezing of all undelivered orders of surplus explosives. The State police on Friday seized three trailer trucks loaded with 69 tons of explosives six and a half times more powerful than T.N.T. The police said that the trucks, which were intercepted at Lake Katrine, New York, were on the way to a Zionist leader’s business associate in New Jersey. The drivers of the trucks had become suspicious that they were carrying explosives and they “tipped off” the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The alarm was broadcast by the New Jersey police after they had broken up an alleged arms ring suspected of supplying weapons to Palestine Jews. Nine alleged members of the ring, .who were arrested on a New Jersey farm on Thursday were later released on bail. At the time of the arrests the police seized a consignment of 50 tons of ex- ' plosives and they suspected that three more lorry loads of explosives were diverted from the farm. The United States Army describes the seized explosive as cyclonite, which has about the same strength as dynamite. Arab Statement While the search was being carried out, the United Nations Palestine Commission opened its sittings at Lake Success and the Arab Higher Committee mad© a statement accusing the ; Jewish Agency of being an active body - behind the smuggling of arms and amI munition to Palestine. i “We have information that Zionists J are buying ships, armoured cars, and 5 aeroplanes in the United States in order to fight the Arabs,” it was stated. “The > United States cannot legally or morr ally object to the Russians sending ■ arms and ammunition to Greece if it J continues to allow American citizens ■ to raise funds to smuggle arms and 1 ammunition and send them to Zionists • in Palestine.”