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Friday, April 19, 1946
THE JEWISH NEWS
`Different Status' Promised
Refugees on Detained Ship
?age Seven.
Survivors' Ship Intercepted by British at Haifa
Hunger Strike Ended After Five Days Aboard Vessel;
I .000 Survivors Jammed on Boat Resembling Old
Chinese Junk; - All Want to Go to Palestine
LA SPEZIA, Italy (JTA)—The more than 1,000 Jewish
refugees who are being held here aboard . the Italian ship
"Fede," and prevented from proceeding to Palestine, this
week ended their hunger strike, which lasted five days.
JERUSALEM, (JTA)—Jewish trade, industry and
transport was paralyzed on Monday when Jews through-
out Palestine fasted in sympathy with the La Spezia
refugees.
Palestine Jewish leaders entered their fourth day
of hunger striking in protest against the British refusal
to permit the refugees to enter the country.
The strike was suspended 'until April 19 following a two-
hour meeting with Harold . Laski, chairman of the British
Labor Party, who promised to
take up the case of detained ref- flinchingly determined to get to
ugees with British Foreign Sec- Palestine, or to perish. They also
retary Bevin, and report his de- asked that the American, British
cision by that time. Pending and Russian ambassadors in Rome
Bevin's ruling, the refugees were come to La Spezia to investigate
promised a "different status" by for themselves, adding that if an
British Capt. Hills of Allied Gen- attempt to remove them forcibly
eral Headquarters.
is made it will end disastrously
The leaders of the refugees pre- for the authorities as well as for
sented the British officer with the the refugees.
following four demands: 1. The
Jewish community leaders here
Italian guards should be removed have telegraphed to the Pope,
from the ship; 2. The refugees as well as to the American, Brit-
should be allowed -free access to ish and Soviet ambassadors at
the city of La Spezia; 3. News- Rome, and members of the Anglo-
papermen should be permitted to American inquiry committee now
visit the ship freery; 4. The four meeting at Lausanne, appealing
Italian officials who were ar- to them to intervene on behalf of
rested for displaying sympathy the detained refugees.
with the detained Jews should be
Dr. Umberto Nachon, repre-
released.
sentative in Italy of the Jewish
Agency for Palestine, went to
May Accept Demands
Hills indicated that these de- Genoa to confer with officials of
mands probably will be accepted the Allied Commission regarding
by higher ; authorities. The pres- disposition of the refugees.
Youth Heads Group
ence of an official from the Brit-
A 25-year-old Romanian, Moshe
ish embassy who came from
Rome to attend the conference Feldman, is providing strong and
with the refugees gave the agree- colorful leadership of the group,
which is much cheered by the
ment an official character.
The suspension of the hunger attitude of the Italian people and
strike climaxed a grim day dur_ the Italian press. Many newspa-
ing which over 80 men and worn- pers in north Italy have published
en fainted. Two men tried to sympathetic editorials and a del-
hang themselves on the pier. Dr.. egation from the La Spezia So-
Boris Schwartzban, one of the cialist and Communist parties
passengers, said that the continu- boarded the "Fede" to express
ation of the strike might have their sympathy.
The head of the political sec-
resulted in an epidemic; possibly
typhus, because of the weakened tion of the Italian Police, who
condition of the strikers. Only had been assigned to the ship,
11 children among the 1,040 pas- was removed from his post and
sengers were exempted from the arrested by the authorities be-
hunger strike. Even pregnant cause he manifested sympathy for
the Jews.
women refused to eat.
Police Chief Russo of La Spezia
The refugees agreed to accept
food provided by the JDC so had told the Jewish Telegraphic
that their own food supplies can Agency earlier that had the refu-
be saved for the Palestine trip. gees told him they were Jews,
The JDC supplied matzohs and he would have allowed them to
proceed without any interference.
Passover necessities.
He explained that the police
Like a Chinese Junk
The ship somewhat resembles halted the lorries on which the
a Chinese junk, and hardly seems refugees arrived for embarkation
sturdy enough to withstand a because they thought the Jews
two-weeks buffeting at sea, Its were fascists for whom the au-
hold is divided into two sections thorities were hunting. The sus-
separated by a corridor scarcely picions of the police, he stated,
wide enough to permit a man to wereheightened by the fact that
walk. On either side of the pas- the refugees refused to answer
sage, there are row after row any questions. For want of better
of bunks in seven layers. The quarters, since La. Spezia is a
passengers are obliged to crawl badly battered city and port; the
over one another in order to get police put the refugees aboard
out or in. The only light or air the craft on which they intended
comes from an opening in the to sail, for Palestine. -
Boards Ship" Illegally
deck above.
This correspondent boarded the
The only "document" that the
passengers carry is a blue card "Fede" illegally after thrice be-
on which there is a caption read- ing refused permission to pay a
ing, "Permit to Enter Palestine," legal visit to the detained refu-
after which is listed the name of gees. I rowed two kilometers
the holder's father, his birthplace across the harbor to the pier
and nationality. Then the legend where the ship was tied up.
The leaders of the refugees told
appears, "The bearer has been
found qualified by representatives me the full story- of their abort-
of the Jewish community of Pal- ed voyage and their struggle with
estine for repatriation to Pales- the authorities. They revealed
tine." Under the heading, "Au- that when the Allied authorities
thority," the following four state- were informed of their situation,
a squad of armed Royal Marines
ments appear:
"1. And they shall abide in arrived an& took up posts on
the land I have given unto the deck ,and sought to cow the
refugees into leaving the ship for
Jacob, My servant, wherein
your father abode, and they a camp at. Chiavari, a few miles
shall abide therein, even they from La Spezia. The Jews, who
had survived such extermination
and their children's children
camps as Oswiecim, Buchenwald,
forever—Ezekiel 37."
"2. And with great mercies Birkenau and Mauthousen, re-
fused to move, and the marines
will I gather thee—Isaiah 54."
"3. Lord Balfour'S Declara- finally 'withdrew.
This was followed by a series
tion of November 2, 1917."
"4. The Mandate for Pales- of conferences among various
British officers and leaders of the
tine."
refugees, with the British trying
Determined to Go There
The leaders of the refugees to persuade the passengers to
asked me to convey to the world disembark, but without success..
Further evidencing their deter-
the message • that they were un-
This is _the Turkish motor vessel Asya which
was renamed TEL HAI, as the Hebrew letters on
the boat indicate. The Tel Hai carried 733 Jewish
survivors of Nazi death camps. It is shown enter-
ing the harb or at Haifa, Palestine, after being
mination to resist all efforts to
move them, the passengers re-
moved vital -"Parts of the ship's
engines, making movement im-
possible in the event the authori-
ties try to transport them aboard
the craft to some place other than
Palestine. The engines, however,
can be repaired within two hours
should the authorities relent and
permit the "Fede" to sail for
Palestine.
JERUSALEM, (JTA)—Jeru-
salem was electrified by the un-
confirmed report that the La
Spezia refugees will be permitted
to sail, but that their number
would be deducted from the 1,500
intercepted by a British destroyer near the Pales-
tine coast. The refugees, who boarded the vessel
at a French Mediterranean port, were detained by
Palestine immigration officials and later released.
total of visas to be available for
April 15 to May 15.
It became known that the gov-
ernment executive council met
for several hours on Sunday, and
it is reported that the • High
Commissioner had telephoned
London and discussed the urgency
of the situation.
The number of hunger strikers
increased to 15 when Israel Gar-
finkel, member of the Tel Aviv
municipal council, and Itzhak
Werfel, Poale Mizrachi central
committee, joined the group.
It was .apparent that the Pal-
estine strikers had not yet re-
ceived word of the end of the
strike by the La Spezia refugees.
Government. Asked to Appeal
for Visas for Refugees
-
ROME
(JTA) — The Italian
Government has been asked by
Rafaele Cantoni, chairman of the
Union of Jewish Communities in
Italy, to intervene with the Allied
Commission to enable the de-
parture to Palestine of the refu-
gees detained at La Spezia. Can-
toni suggested that the Allied
Commission secure from the Pal-
estine Government immigration
certificates for the detained Jews,
to be deducted from the Pales-
tine quota for April.
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