U.S. Arms Embargo Aids the Arabs, Says Holifield, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, Jan. 29, 1948.

Click here to view the original article. Click here for more on Arms.

WASHINGTON, Jan. 28 (AP)-Representative Holifield (D., Calif.) protested today that a State Department embargo policy puts the United States “in support of the Arab States in their war against the people of Palestine.”

He made the protest at a House Executive Expenditures Subcommittee hearing on recent purchases of surplus explosives by the Jewish agency for Palestine, and an attempted shipment of other explosives to Palestine.

E. T. Cummins of the State Department’s munitions division testified an absolute embargo was placed December 5 on shipments of all arms, munitions “and implements of war” to Egypt, Lebanon, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Trans-Jordan, Iraq and Palestine.

Holifield told reporters later the effect of the embargo “is to create a corridor for the Arabs to get arms into Palestine, while the Jews have no such corridor.” He said he believes the entire embargo should be abolished.

The hearing concerned these two sales of surplus by the War Assets Administration-400,000 pounds of demolition blocks to Foundry Associates, Inc., of New York, and 60,000 pounds of TNT to the Pottsville Coal Sales Corporation of Pottsville, N. Y.

Three truckloads of the Foundry Associates shipment were found last month on a farm near Asbury Park. N. J., and the other TNT was seized in New York ready for export to Palestine.

After the hearing, Chairman Rizley (R., Okla.) said it was apparent the WAA “was perfectly in the clear” in both sales.