CONFERENCE ON PALESTINE

Press, Volume LXXV, Issue 22636, 15 February 1939, Page 11

CONFERENCE ON PALESTINE

THE JEWISH CASE STATED

REQUEST FOR NATIONAL HOME

NO DESIRE TO DOMINATE ARABS

(umu ornctAt. (Received February 14, 10 p.m.) RUGBY, February 13. The Palestine conferences were continued to-day.

Ragheb Bey Nashashibi was sufficiently recovered from his indisposition to attend.

The morning session was devoted to a- continuation of the discussion of the Arab case between the Arab delegates and the British representatives, the Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr Malcolm Mac Donald), Mr R. A. Butler, and the Marquess of Dufferin and Ava. Muri Pasha made a long statement on the McMahon correspondence. To-morrow, Amir Faishal and Prince Seif A 1 Hussein will make statements, and this will be followed by -a statement by Mr Butler on behalf of Britain.

The afternoon meeting with the Jewish delegation was occupied with a discussion on Dr. Weizmann’s statement on behalf of the Jewish Agency. Rabbi Wise, Mr Shertok, and Dr. Weizman’n took part.

In his statement of the Jewish case, Dr. Weizmann said that at the root of the Jewish problem lay the hopelessness of the Jewish people. Everywhere a minority, and in many countries helpless and at the mercy of others, they had preserved their identity because of their attachment to Palestine and of their hope of a return to Zion. The claim to Palestine had never been abandoned. The Jewish community there had never ceased to exist. In every age group, Jews had worked their way to Palestine, and for the last 60 years active resettles ment had been going on. The Balfour Declaration recognised these historic facts, and in the preamble to the Mandate international recognition was given to the historical connexion of the Jewish people with Palestine, and to the grounds for reconstituting their national home in that country. It was essential that there should be one place in the world where Jews should not be a fraction, an appendix, or an adjunct to something else —where they should be themselves masters of their own destinies. Dr. Weizmann criticised the abandonment of the project for a Jewish State, envisaged in the Peel Report, while mentioning the objections of Jews to’ many features of the scheme. He argued that the Arabs had emerged from the war with four kingdoms. In so far as the Balfour Declaration had contributed to a victory for the Allies it had also contributed to the liberation of the Arabs. He thought it not irrelevant to compare what the Arabs had made of the extraordinary opportunities which had come to them with very little trouble, and what the Jews had made of the chances vouchsafed to them. The Arab claim that Palestine was an Arab country and should have an Arab national government was not capable of realisation. The Jews already formed onethird of the population, and were responsible for two-thirds or more of the economic and cultural activity of Palestine. The Arabs professed to fear Jewish domination, but the Jews did not want to dominate the Arabs. However, they would not allow themselves to be dominated by them. , . , _ He believed sincerely that Jews and Arabs could find a meeting ground beneficial to both, but this could only be on the basis of the Mandate implemented in the spirit and the letter, including the largest total Jewish immigration in accordance with economic capacity, and the principle of an active policy of development and effective safeguards against minority status.

CONTROL CLAIMED BY ARABS

“STRUGGLE WITH BRITAIN

LIKELY”

WINNIPEG, February 13

“Unless the Arabs’ right to govern. Palestine is recognised, the whole Arab world will be forced into a desperate struggle with Britain,” stated Fuad Chalil Mufarri, of Damascus, secretary to the Arab National Bureau, in an address here before the Institute of International Affairs “Such a struggle would be unfortunate for Britain, if London desires to preserve her interest in the‘Suez Canal and the air route to India, he declared. “The Arabs would prefer the British tie if it were based or justice, but they will not permit it to be used for subjection and colonisation. Britain had no right to promise the Jews part of Palestine.” •