Jewish homeland issue tabled (3-17-44)

The Pittsburgh Press (March 17, 1944)

Jewish homeland issue tabled

Washington (UP) –
The House Foreign Affairs Committee, following a War Department recommendation, today tabled resolutions which would put Congress on record as favoring free entry of Jews into Palestine and eventual establishment of that area as a Jewish commonwealth.

The committee acted after hearing Assistant Secretary of War John J. McCoy testify in opposition to the resolution in an executive session.

Committee Chairman Sol Bloom made public a letter from Secretary of War Henry L. Stimson saying:

It is the considered judgment of the War Department that without reference to the merits of these resolutions, further action on them would be prejudicial to the successful prosecution of the war.

The committee said in a statement:

Advice and information given to us by those responsible for the conduct of the war have convinced the committee that action upon the resolutions at this time would be unwise.

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Looks like an unnecessary delay in resolving this long-standing issue. I wonder what might have happened if the resolution was approved in 1944. Could the events that caused many deaths been avoided if they acted sooner? Delayed decisions have consequences as much as those decisions made purposefully.

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