JEWISH PLEA

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26473, 29 May 1947, Page 8

JEWISH PLEA

CLAIM FOR JUSTICE PAMPHLET DISTRIBUTE! NATIONAL HOME PROJECT. The geographical insularity, of Ney Zealand has tended to induce a -de gree of mental insularity among ..'the people of the Dominion so far as problems confronting tne peoples of othei nationalities are concerned. As a case in point, the current strife in Palestine, although frequently in the headlines, is regarded with more or less superficial interest, as it does not appear to affect directly our own lives It has been the aim of the world Zionist movement however,-To bring the Jewish cause before the people of the outs'ide world, more particularly the people of the British Commonwealth, with the object of enlisting a solid backing of popular international support for the Jewish national home project in Palestine. ' . The amount of publicity which has been given to this campaign in other countries, notably in America, has been reflected in recent cable news. Until now, there appeared to have been little or no activity of this type in New Zealand, but householders are at present receiving copies of a pamphlet entitled “ Out of the Depths, through the post. The pamphlet is published by- the Zionist Council of New Zealand. Information Department, which would seem to indicate the setting up of a specific organisation to place the Jewish viewpoint before New Zealanders. Justice, Not Sympathy The pamphlet, which commences “ Dear Friend ” and is signed by A Zionist Friend,” asks for justice and not for sympathy. “I want to tell you something about my people, the Jews,” states the author of the pamr phlet. “Yes, you’ve heard a lot about them lately, about how they throw bombs in Palestine, blow up bridges and railway lines and try to run ships crowded with Jewish refugees ■ into Palestine through the navy blockade. And you are naturally resentful that British lives should be lost. We share vour regret; we too are British citizens, and 60,000 British Jews served with you during the war to end injustice. But there are a great many things which you, perhaps, do not know." The pamphlet goes on to tell: the story of two hypothetical Jews—one in a displaced person’s camp m Germany, and his son, a young farmer m a communal settlement in Palestine. “ He knows that in his village everyone would help him to bring his father there and would even du without many comforts themselves so that he might stay amongst them and regain his health and an interest in life. The friendliness of such communal villages was a welcome respite to thousands of our New Zealand soldiers who experienced their warm hospitality whilst on leave in Palestine,during the war. But now, similar hospitality to their fellow Jews is not allowed by the Government of Palestine: the reason—the White Paper of 1939, which the British Labour Party promised to sweep away, which was .condemned by Churchill, which the Mandates Commission of the League of Nations refused to recognlTlie attitude of the hypothetical son to illegal immigration is given. “There are Jews in Palestine who will not wait for the British Government to change its mind and let in people like his father. -They have tried to bring shiploads of Jewish men and women into the country and he, knowing what it is to live under Fascism, has often helped in this work and hidden men and women and would give his life for them. For they are all brothers and sisters to him.

, Work of Terrorists ” “There are .also small, groups, of young men and women (known as the Stern Gang and the, Irgun Zvai Leumi) who have been driven by despair to acts of violence because they . think that the ears of- the statesmen and Government are closed to normal appeals for justice for the Jewish people. In their grief and anxiety for their friends in Europe, they have blown up offices and killed innocent men and women (British, Jews, and Arabs). But the young man of whom we are speaking hates’murder and violence and he hates what the. Stern Gang and the Irgun Zvai Leumi have done. He.condemns their actions, but he understands .the feelings which prompted them,.’>'- , , , ... The pamphlet: goes on to state that the Jews ask “only for justice, not for sympathy,” and to give the case of the Arabs compared with the Jews. The pamphlet concludes, “The present unrest in Palestine should concern all men of goodwill. Jewish confidence in the justice of the British people .is strong and they believe that ,if The British people knew the facts, they would do the right thing. Let them open the gates of Palestine and honour their pledges to the Jewish people. The world will be behind them.