SENT TO CYPRUS

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 November 1946, Page 7

SENT TO CYPRUS

1400 Jewish Refugees Intercepted* PALESTINE TEST CASE (Recd. 9.53 a.m.) LONDON, November 1. Despite defiant screams and intermittent violence, 1400 Jewish refugees were transhipped from the illegal immigrant ship, the San Dimitrib, to two British deportation ships in Haifa harbour to-day for shipment to Cyprus. The San Dimitrio was brought outside the harbour lashed to a British minesweeper. She was listing so badly that the bottom plates were visible. A British naval rating said the Jews, offered very little resistance because the ship was in danger of sinking. Reuter’s Haifa correspondent says that steel-helmeted Grenadier Guardsmen supervised the transfer of the immigrants to the troopships Empire Heywood and Ocean Vigour. The first three ashore resisted violently. One woman was dragged Jthc length of the gangway, screaming “let me go” in Polish, but the resistance generally was slight. ®

The Supreme Court of Palestine this afternoon issued a writ of habeas corpus -against the Chief Secretary of the Palestine Government and six other British officials to show cause why Walter Frankstein, one of the immigrants aboard the San Dimitrio should not be released.

The writ, which was dispatched to the port by special courier, resulted from an action brought by a Jewish lawyer as a test case based on the view that the High Commissioner is not empowered to deport anyone from Palestine without trial. The officials named in the writ are the Chief Secretary of the Palestine Government, Mr. H. L. G. Gurney, the former G.0.C., Palestine, General Barker, the inspector-general of police, a senior naval officer in the Levant area, and the officers commanding the Empire Heywood and the Ocean Vigour, which both left Haifa for Cyprus carrying the 1400 refugees. SHIP FIRS'fsiGHTED OFF CYPRUS JERUSALEM, October 31. It is officially stated in Jerusalem that a ship carrying a large number of illegal immigrants was sighted off Cyprus., Units of the Royal Navy are escorting the ship, which is approaching ■ Palestine territorial waters. The ship, the San Dimetrio, is reported to be sailing under the Spanish flag, says Reuter’s correspondent. The Jewish population of Haifa has declared a protest strike for November 1 against the anticipated deportation of the ship’s passengers. Heavy reinforcements of British troops have been rushed to the port area as a precautionary measure. The ship is reported, to have left a Spanish port a fortnight ago, according to the British United Press correspondent in Jerusalem, carrying 1400 immigrants, the largest number yet to attempt to reach Palestine. ' List of 30 Degrees. Reuter’s correspondent quotes an unconfirmed report that the immigrants aboard the San Dimetrio overpowered the crew and took command of the ship when the crew refused to enter Palestine territorial waters. It is reported that when she was sighted by Royal Air Force reconnaissance aeroplanes the ship had a list of 30 degrees. Alarmed by a notice, “Get out, bombs in the building,” the staff of the Chief Post Office in Jerusalem left hurriedly while security squads searched the building. No explosives were/iound. A hunt is now being made for terrorists who blew up part of the central station yesterday. Fifty arrests have been made so far. Three policemen were killed in the explosions, and searchers are still looking for 12 persons reported missing. Iraq has declared a day of mourning on November 2 to mark the anniversary of the operation of the Balfour Agreement in 1917. This was the agreement that favoured a national home for the Jews in Palestine, but guaranteed to protect the rights of other people in the area.

Jewish Agency Statement. A Jewish Agency spokesman said in Jerusalem yesterday that everything within the limits of the agency’s resources was being done to end the present campaign of murder and destruction in Palestine. The Jerusalem correspondent of The Times says that the question is what are the limits of official' Jewish resources.

The correspondent adds: “The agency has made it clear that it does not intend to work with the-police and it cannot appear suddenly to work with the Government on this or any issue, for it would then forfeit more of the community’s confidence. Yet paradoxically the agency also argues that 'its first task is to restore public confidence in the Government, for otherwise none of the indispensable co-operation will come from the public in restraining the terrorists.

“The fact is that the official Jewish organisations probably lack the power as well as the 'readiness to deaT physically with terrorists. They admit that gangs are now attempting to terrorise not only the British but also the Jewish community, and no deeper motive than this should be required to inspire maximum action; but the agency hesitates, partly because it cannot bring itself to pay the possible price in blood and perhaps even more because it doubts whether it could succeed.”