Mr. President. a year ago. the senior Senator from New York and I introduced a resolution calling on our Government to take up with the British Government the solution of the Palestine problem. We asked that the British be requested to -carry out the Balfour declaration. to repudiate the white paper of 1937. to reopen Palestine to Jewish immigration. and to resume the policy leading to an independent commonwealth with a majority of Jewish citizens. The administration then opposed thie passage of such a resolution. and promised to take quiet steps to accomplish its purpose. Such steps. if taken. however. proved a complete failure. Now I wish to express my strong approval. and I think that of a majority of the Senators. of President Trumans action in suggesting to the British Prime Minister that 100.000 immigration certificates to Palestine be issued to the homeless Jews of Europe. If the British Government follows this suggestion of .the President. it will provide relief for many of the Jews who survived the horrible persecution and torture of the Nazis. I may add. too. that such a step would be some atonement for what we have failed to do during the war. for during the war period we did little more than express a polite sympathy for the Jews in Germany and in the occupied countries. They were Hitlers first victims. and more than half of them were exterminated. We sent them hearty messages on their holidays. we convened conferences and formed governmental boards to discuss the refugee problem. but the number of those whom our War Refugee Board and other governmental agencies saved in Europe was insignificant. not only in comparison with the overwhelming numbers of Jewish victims in Europe. but even in comparison with the numbers we might have saved if there had been a determination to do so. carried through with ability and careful planning. There was a time when thousands of Jews could have been rescued from Rumania. Hungary. and other countries in Europe.
Keywords matched
immigration refugee Refugee