August 1944 Article - Rabbis and Greek Churchmen Make Plea to Congress, British Embassy and White House

August 30 1944

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From New York Times August 30, 1944 edition.

ASK GOVERNMENT TO SUCCOR JEWS

Rabbis and Greek Churchmen Make Plea to Congress, British Embassy and White House
 
Special to the New York Times
 
WASHINGTON, Aug. 29— Appeals for the rescue of the Jewish people of Europe were presented to the White House, to Congress and to the British Embassy today by Jewish and Greek Orthodox Church leaders.
 
In a ceremony, details of which were recorded by camera men on the Capitol steps, the delegation offered to Congress a petition, said to be signed by 500,000 persons, asking the Governments of the United States and of Britain to expedite means of admitting European Jewish refugees, particularly from Hungary, to Palestine at the earliest possible moment.
 
The same petition was later sub-mitted to the British Embassy, and after that it was deposited at the White House.
 
Members of both houses of Congress have introduced a resolution urging President Roosevelt to persuade Britain, in effect, to lift its limitation on Jewish immigration into Palestine, for which Britain holds the mandate under agreement with the League of Nations.
 
Hungary recently made known it would release all Jews on its territory if they could show that they had visas to enter Palestine.
 
The petition asked the President to “convey to the British Government, which is entrusted with the mandate over Palestine, the conviction of the American people that it is against all justice that Hebrews alone, of all people, are not allowed free entry into Palestine."
 
It was received at the Capitol by Representatives Thomas J. Lane, Democrat, of Massachusetts. and D. Scott Jr.. Republican, of Pennsylvania, co-sponsors of the pending resolution, and they ac-companied the delegation to the British Embassy, and afterward to the White House.
 
Participating in presentation of the petition were: Rabbi Eliezer Silver, head of the Agudath Israel of America; Archbishop Athenagoras, head of the Greek Orthodox Church; Rabbi Ben Zion Jotelevitz, vice chairman of the Union of Orthodox Rabbis; Rabbi Ephraim E. Yolles of Penn-sylvania; Rabbi Reuben Levovitz of New York; Rabbi Dr. Alexander Rosenberg; Rabbi Benjamin W. Hendeles, former head of the Warsaw Jewish community; Rabbi Dr. Eliezer Schoenfeld; Rabbi Baruch Korff chief of the rescue activities of the Emergency Committee, and Alex Wilf, executive director of the American League for a Free Palestine.