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kMe Sentine 1" A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER DEVOTED TO JEWISH INTERESTS Vol. CXXXI JULY 15, 1943 No.2 Requisite Results of the Giraud Visit The official ado in Washington in connection with the visit and most of the naval force, already embarked and at sea, of General Henri Giraud, by special invitation, is no more was British. popularly approved in this country than among the British "Mr. Bess insists on the character of the commitment: people and the mass of Frenchmen. With due allowance for 'The Murphy-Giraud accord stipulated that any expedition to military requirements in the past and until complete victory French territory would be an essentially American expedi- is achieved over the Axis, there is yet the greatest dissatisfac- tion, under American command, with no participation of any tion with the course pursued in dealing with the matter of outside elements, French or otherwise. It stated that only French leadership in North Africa, and concurrence every- after our landings, and by agreement with the local French where in the view that if anyone should be favored by the and American authorities, would it be permitted, in case of American government, it is General Charles de Gaulle not need, that non-American allies (i.e. the British) or outside only because of his fidelity and invaluable service to the Allied French (i.e. the Fighting French) might be sent into any of cause from the very start but also because he provides the best these territories." assurance that completely democratic, rather than reactionary, The propaganda campaign in accordance with this secret tendencies will prevail in all French territory immediately agreement must be discontinued at once since its only effect upon its liberation. The fact that French leaders in North can be, as Mr. Lippmann says, "to injure Gen. Giraud and Africa have agreed among themselves that authority is to be to outrage Gen. de Gaulle and his followers, not to mention shared by General Giraud and General de Gaulle makes it the British, our other allies, and the conscience of the Ameri- necessary that both should be regarded and treated exactly can people." alike in every respect by the American government and all of The French North African situation can be straightened out the United Nations. The invitation to come here, for what- only by adhering to the Lippmann formula, as follows: "Hav- ever purpose, should, therefore, have been extended to both ing stopped the propaganda campaign, the imperative thing or Luneither. to do in the interest of everyone is to recognize the French The deliberate and utterly indefensible and, consequently, Committee of National Liberation as the sole trustee of French widely-resented slighting of General de Gaulle in not inviting interests and the sole authority in French affairs. Then, the him as well as General Giraud to come to this country either next thing to do is to treat with Gen. Giraud as the repre- at the same time or soon after, calls for such rectification as is sentative of that committee, and not as our appointee, in possible only by following the course prescribed in the article regard to measures which will permit the French, as our Allies by Walter Lippmann in the Chicago Sun last Monday, in and not as our dependents, to train and equip a fighting which the ablest of all American commentators on current army for their own liberation. public questions says of the "most unappetizing mess" that has "Then we could all make a fresh and clean start, letting resulted from the way the French North African situation has bygones be bygones." been handled, that it "can be cleaned up during Gen. Giraud's A matter which also has to be attended to before General visit in Washington. The way to clean it up is to stop at once Giraud terminates his visit to this country is the giving of the official propaganda campaign for Giraud against de assurances of the prompt restoration of the Cremieux Decree Gaulle." of 1870, which he abrogated five months ago, as the rabidly The imperativeness of such action is made clear to all by anti-Semitic Vichy regime had done previously, thereby de- Mr. Lippmann when he says: "After Mr. (Demaree) Bess' priving an estimated 120,000 Algerian Jews of their French disclosure (in articles in the Saturday Evening Post, of the citizenship. French circles in New York are reported to have official files on the political policy in effect in French North said that General Giraud is expected to announce a reversal Africa) this (propaganda) campaign is nothing but a stub- of his position with regard to the Cremieux Decree during his bornly dangerous attempt to impose upon the French nation stay here but such an announcement has not as yet been made the obsolete terms of the Murphy-Giraud agreement." by him. If it isn't done, it is the duty of the United States All will read with the greatest interest Mr. Lipmann's government to heed the appeal made to it by the Jewish revelations on this point, as follows: "The world now has for Labor Committee, backed up by prominent French liberal the first time some knowledge of the contents of the original leaders in this country and elsewhere, "to use its good offices secret agreement between Mr. (Robert) Murphy (American with the present French administration in Algeria so that the diplomatic representative in French North Africa) and Gen. latter will once and for all wipe out the shameful Fascist Giraud. This agreement was made one week before the landing anti-Jewish laws of the Nazi-Vichy regime. We are confident in North Africa, and while Gen. Giraud was still in France. that the great American and British democracies will exert Mr. Bess is undoubtedly right in dwelling on this agreement effective pressure upon the present French administration as essential to an understanding of the political aspects of of Algeria and force it to adhere to the declaration of the Four our policy in North Africa. Freedoms proclaimed by President Roosevelt." "Mr. Bess tells us that 'our agreement specified that we The restoration of the Cremieux Decree can no longer would obtain 'Gen. Giraud's consent before admitting any be delayed in view of the action of the French Committee of outside elements to our African expeditionary force, an ob- National Liberation, meeting with General de Gaulle presid- vious reference to the British and to followers of Gen. de ing in General Giraud's absence, ordering the immediate disso- Gaulle.' Mr. Murphy made this commitment in the name of lution of Jacques Doriot's savagely anti-Semitic and pro-Axis the United States government at a moment when he knew French Popular Party. that the larger part of the first African expeditionary force -A. A. FREEDLANDER..

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