The Rabbis & the Oil

The President, more & more relying on General George C. Marshall's prestige with Congress, was glad to have him go to Capitol Hill to kill the Wagner-Taft Palestine Resolution (TIME, March 13). To make sure of the kill, Mr. Roosevelt had had General Marshall backed up by letters from Secretary of War Stimson and Secretary of State Hull. All said the bill must be killed for "military" reasons.

On these impressive advices, Congress acted. The resolution was pigeonholed. Senators Robert Wagner of New York and Robert Taft of Ohio, and the American Zionists immediately keened in despair.

The famed British White Paper of 1939 had set a date--March 31, 1944--for the closing of the doors of Palestine to Jewish immigrants.* Senators Wagner and Taft had introduced a resolution proposing that Congress reaffirm its 1922 endorsement of the Balfour Declaration. This famed Declaration was issued by the grave, witty Olympian Elder Statesman, the late Arthur James Balfour, in 1917, when, as Foreign Secretary for Great Britain, he promised the eventual creation of a Jewish "national home" in Palestine.

The Wagner-Taft resolution, attempting to give reality to that promise, immediately drew protests from the Arabs.* The Arabs were sitting pretty. For, as everyone knows, the U.S. is busily engaged in nailing down its position in Arabian oil, vitally important for future war and peace (TIME, Feb. 14). Arabs could be presently sure that their feelings would receive priority over long-suffering Zionists.

Turnabout. But the President wanted the Zionists to be happy too. So, with the resolution safely dead, to the White House for a half-hour conference last week went famed Rabbis Stephen S. Wise of New York and Abba Hillel Silver of Cleveland, co-chairmen of the American Zionist Emergency Council, both noted for organ-toned oratory. Emerging, they announced: "The President is happy that the doors of Palestine are today open to Jewish refugees and that when future decisions are reached full justice will be done to those who seek a Jewish national home. . . ."

After their White House conference, Rabbis Wise & Silver repaired to the Statler Hotel for a banquet given by the American Palestine Committee. Senator Wagner called the White Paper "the Munich of Palestine." Vice President Wallace spoke dreamily of a future "Jordan Valley Authority" to make the Promised Land bloom. But sad-eyed Rabbi Silver reminded his listeners that "we are an ancient people, a people of long memory."

Next day a Government official of very high rank was asked the real reason for the Administration opposition to the Wagner-Taft resolution. Ignoring the "military" arguments made by General Marshall & Co., he asked: "Don't you think that perhaps the strength of the opposition can be measured by the depth of Arabian oil?"

* Actually, immigration since 1939 had fallen 27,000 short of the five-year quota of 75,000 set by the White Paper, and immigrants may continue to trickle in until the quota is filled.

* Pronounced by some Southern Congressmen to rhyme with Hayrabs

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