DEVELOPMENT OF PALESTINE

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23412, 20 August 1941, Page 4

DEVELOPMENT OF PALESTINE

. —i— , CHANGES IN RECENT YEARS

RACIAL COLLABORATION A verbal picture of Palestine's development, war effort, strategic value to the Empire, and of the Jew-Arab relations, was given in an interview yesterday by Dr. S. Lowy, bacteriologist, who has lived for 18 years in Palestine and who arrived in Christchurch yesterday. Dr. Lowy went to Palestine in 1923, on the completion of studies in England, and has devoted considerable energy to problems in the development of* the country. He left recently to. tour New Zealand and Australia (and will probably go to the United States also) to inform people about Palestine's place in the present war, and to prepare for the post-war Jewish settlement question. He represents the Jewish Agency, the body recog: nised by the British Government ana by the League of, Nations in the upbuilding of Palestine. As Palestine was situated on the cross-roads between the European, African,’and Asiatic continents, and was the guardian of the Suez Canal he need hardly emphasise its strategic importance, Dr. Lowy said. ‘‘Converting a Desert"

When the Balfour declaration came in 1917, he said, British politicians already had it in mind to settle in Palestine people who would be unconditionally loyal to the British cause, because Great Britain well knew that the country would have to play an important part in the maintenance, and perhaps defence, of the British position in the Near East. Since 1917, thanks to the declaration and to the favourable British public attitude towards work in Palestine, more than 500,000 Jews had immigrated into the Holy Land, “converting a desert into a garden.” The swamps of 1917-18 had disappeared and there were now thriving colonies through the country. Some of the thousands of soldiers who had gone to Palestine since it had been chosen as a training ground for British and Dominion troops had admired the change which had taken place there and the spirit which existed. Arabs and Jews Dr. Lowy replied to questions about reported unrest in the last few years, and about the country’s safety as a training ground. Since 1934, he said, Germany and Italy had tried to undermine British prestige in the Near East. Arms and ammunition were smuggled into Palestine, Iraq, and other Near East countries; some of the Arab leaders had been bribed; and intensive anti-British propaganda was launched. The Balfour declaration was taken as a welcome excuse to weaken British prestige. That was how disturbances broke out in 1936. “With the outbreak of war,” he said, “peace was restored in Palestine within three weeks because of the stoppage of smuggling of arms and of the money which was sent to foment unrest."

Since the outbreak of war, he said, there had been close collaboration between Arabs and Jews in all fields of activity—economic, educational, and even political. Leaders of the disturbances fied to Iraq and Syria to continue anti-British propaganda. The -revolt in Iraq was their work. War Effort On the same day as war broke out, a national register of all able-bodied men between 14 and 45 was prepared, and 136,000 volunteered spontaneously for active service by land, sea, and air. Dr. Lowy said. Thousands of Palestine’s Jews had fought with the British Expeditionary Force in France, and others'had fought in Libya, Eritrea, Greece, and Crete. Casualty lists had been fairly heavy. As many as. 1500 Palestine Jews served with the Royal Air Force in the Near East.

The Hebrew University had been of vital importance in medical work for the British military forces. With the help of the university, which had acquired much experience in malaria and other tropical diseases, the lives of thousands of soldiers had been saved in the Near East.

.Industry in Palestine had been put on a war footing, and various kinds of war materials were now produced there. The Dead Sea, incidentally, was the only purveyor of potash and bromines for the production of certain explosives throughout the Empire. The country had also become Important in the supply of foodstuff for the Brtiish Army, arid Since the outbreak of war the slogan, “digging for victory," -had found, a ready response among Jewish settlers. Soldiers’ clubs had been set up In the cities, and hospitality, committees had spared no effort in giving the soldiers a second home