British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume I - Page 73

CHAPTER II.

On 10th October the Officer Administering the Government and the Commander-in-Chief Middle East issued a joint official communiqué in which it was clearly stated that the terrorists and "their active and passive sympathisers are directly impeding the war effort of Great Britain" and "assisting the enemy". The communiqué called upon "the Jewish community as a whole to do their utmost to assist the forces of law and order in eradicating this evil thing within their midst" and added that "verbal condemnation of outrages on the platform and in the press may have its effect but is not in itself enough; what is required is actual collaboration with the forces of law and order, especially the giving of information leading to the apprehension of the assassins and their accomplices". The communiqué then demanded "of the Jewish community in Palestine, their leaders and representative bodies to recognise and discharge their responsibilities and not to allow the good name of the Yishuv to be prejudiced by acts which can only bring shame and dishonour on the Jewish people as a whole".

In October, 251 Jews who had been detained on strong suspicion of terrorist activities were deported to Eritrea as a security measure.

On 6th November. the Minister of State, Lord Movne, was assassinated in Cairo by two members of the Stern group. On 17th November the Prime Minister made a statement in the House of Commons regarding the assassination. In this statement he said : "If our dreams for Zionism are to end in the smoke of assassins' pistols and our labours for its future are to produce a new set of gangsters worthy of Nazi Germanv, many like myself will have to reconsider the position we have maintained so consistently and so long in the past. If there is to be any hope of a peaceful and successful future for Zionism these wicked activities must cease and those responsible for them must be destroyed, root and branch". He stated that His Majestv's Government was "entitled to demand and to receive" the "wholehearted co-operation of the entire Jewish community". He quoted the appeal of the Executive of the Jewish Agency to the Jewish community "to cast out the members of this destructive band, to deprive them of all refuge and shelter, to resist their threats and to render all necessary assistance to the authorities in the prevention of terrorist acts - and in the eradication of the terrorist organization". He added : "These are strong words but we must wait for these words to be translated into deeds. We must wait to see that not only the leaders but every man, woman and child of the Jewish community does his or her best to bring this

terrorism to a speedy end''. ..

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