RACIAL UNREST IN PALESTINE.

Auckland Star, Volume LIV, Issue 182, 1 August 1923, Page 6

RACIAL UNREST IN PALESTINE.

THE ZIONIST MOTBMHT. ' BISHOP AVERILI/S OBSERVATIONS. An interesting illustrated lecture on Palestine, its manifold interest to the j world at large and as the historical land administered under British mandate, was delivered to a large and appreciative audience at the Leye Institute last evening by Dr. A. W. Averill, Anghcan Bishop of Auckland. • The Bishop said that the deliverance of Palestine from the misrule of Turkey i meant its deliverance from centuries of stagnation. Although a little country, of twelve thousand miles square, its geographical position, situated between j Egypt and Syria, on the great caravan j route, had made it to the East what Belgium had been to the West. It had been the scene of mighty conquests in the past. Jerusalem held an important place amongst the cities of South Palestine 1400 years B.C. It had been destroyed by Assyrians, Philistines, Arabs, Persians, Parthiana, Romans, Crusaders and Moslems. It had witnessed the rise and fall and partial restoration and subsequent disintegration of the Jewish nation. For nearly two thousand years j it had been the Holy Land to millions of Christians and for many centuries one of the eacred pieces of the Mohammedans. ARABS SUSPICIOUS AND RESENTFUL With, regard to the present position, it must be remembered that the city was captured by the Arabs, A.D. 637, and with the exception of the interval when it was captured by the Crusaders in 1099, to be retaken by Turkomans in the second half of the 11th century, Palestine had been more or less eubjnct to the Turks up to the time of its deliverance by General AUenby in 1917. At the present time, according to the latest census, the population is 761,647, of which 77 per cent are Mohammedans, (Arabs); 11.5 per cent Christians, (various); 10.6 per cent Jews, and 0.9 per cent other religions. It wae only fair to point out that the Jews had not held Palestine since its capture by the Romans 8.C., and that they had only had a very precarious hold upon the country after the return of 42,000 of them from Babylon by the decree of Cyrus. In view of these facts, the lecturer pointed out that the Balfour Declaration, establishing in Palestine "a national home fortthe Jewish people," was decidedly unpopular with the Arab population, who had for some twelve centuries regarded Palestine ac part of their country and who had assisted the British in delivering it from the Turks. The feeling of suspicion was in- | tensified by the unwise action of the ' Zionists and simmering troubles culminated in the refusal of the Arabs to take part in the election of the Legislative Council, which only allowed them twelve out of twenty-five members, although they formed an overwhelming majority of the population.. The lecturer enumerated the difficulties which stood in the way of a smooth and amicable working of the Constitution. JEWS UNWILLING TO OCCUPY THE LAND. Although he had no anti-Semitic feelings, and sympathised with the Jews in their desire for a national ! home, he thought the declaration wae ! premature and not sufficiently consld- ! ered. If the country was large enough I to hold the Jewish nation, and if the' Jews generally desired to return and! form a united Jewish nation, develop' the country and the spirit of nation- j hood, he would have every sympathy ! with that desire, but the wording o f the Declaration assumes that Jews generally will not leave their present homes, and there was a danger that the country may really be owned and con-1 trolled by absentee landlords in London ' and New York. The genius of the Jew at the present time is not pastoral pursuits, but commerce and finance, and unless the Zionists are prepared to develop industries in Palestine he doubted if the settlement would be a success. So far some 16,000 or 18 000 Jews had returned under the Zionistsflag, but many had left again, and reports as to the satisfaction of those! remaining were very conflicting If Palestine was an empty country, and did not contain places held in sacred veneration by Christians and Mohammedans, one could have had more hope for the success of the movement, but » nt ; c 'Pated many difficulties and ■ much trouble unless the situation is handled w.th extreme tact and in a' spirit of fairness and goodwill.

v^ij*^ 6 lecturer ' e opinion," Britain ehoud have retained the control of the ™? he - OWn hands ™«1 some rea modus Vivendi could have been arrived at between the various nathfn | S'" 0 and afterwards V might have been possible to carry out SLr fc SU=s,ru3 , B.s the cleanest p! acc in Pa] eetille to aa , on^ c SP lf er Hterally took hi 9 « e «er s on a s ,ght-see.ng trip, describing thl mam points of interest from Jaffa on tori^l" , " *l Which Was shown P ic tonally on the screen from many aspects. The country in Palestine C Jh?l £ VaUaye amid hills. The land was fertile, but there was great need of irrigation. Under ■cultivation it was capable of producing abundant crops, but the surface had £ the Primitive tillage of the Arabs.