British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume I - Page 67

CHAPTER II.
community staged by the Vaad Leumi in protest against Allied inactivity in rescuing the Jewish remnant in Europe. In Tel Aviv police and military vehicles and Government offices were stoned.

In a speech at Tel Hai on 20th March, Mr. Ben Gurion stated" that the end of the war would not necessarily mean the end of fighting for the Jews but might on the contrary be only the beginning of their own fight. Shortly afterwards, in a speech to the Elected Assembly, he made a bitter attack on the proposals which had been announced by Government on 23rd March for post-war development and reconstruction; this speech contained the following statement" :-

uwe wish to be frank and tell the Government that there wilJ be no co-operation between us and the White Paper authorities neither at present nor after the war. We sha11 not give a hand in carrying out the plans revealed to us last night, for all those plans are based on the stoppage of Jewish immigration, on the seclusion of Jews in a special Jewish living space, on the realisation of the White Paper policy, on the deprivation of the Jewish people of its homeland".

A similar attitude was also adopted by the Revisionists. '!'his attitude of Jewish political leaders towards Government post-war development proposals subsequently met with some opposition from industrial and local government bodies, who were in favour of a measure of co-operation in a matter into which they considered politics need not enter.

During March, 1943, there was a notable increase in the number and magnitude of thefts of arms and explosives from military establishments, and shortly afterwards there was revealed the existence of a large scale stealing racket connected with the Hagana and with ramifications throughout the Middle East. Jewish feeling against action by Government and the military authorities to stop this traffic was roused by the trial by military court of two Jews who had taken part in the traffic. The "arms trial", as it came to be known, was preceded bv the trial of two British military deserters (Privates Harris and Stoner) who were sentenced each to fifteen years imprisonment for complicity in the thefts.• The trial of those concerned in the thefts was conducted from 11th August to 27th September, during which period anti-Government feeling was aggravated by the stress which was laid by the Jewish press and in pronouncements of Jewish leaders on the motives of the accused in acquiring arms for the defence of the National Home against aggression. The two accused were convicted at the end of September and sentenced to ten and seven years' imprisonment
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* As reported in the local press.

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