ARABS AND JEWS

Waikato Times, Volume 125, Issue 20862, 21 July 1939, Page 8

ARABS AND JEWS

PALESTINE PROBLEMS INTENTIONS OF BRITAIN ( ’ ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION (Official Wireless) (Received July 21, 3.15 p.m.) LONDON, July 20 Continuing his statement during the debate on Palestine problems in the House of Commons, Mr Malcolm MacDonald said he did not agree that the Government’s policy was a departure from the terms of the mandate, and If any member were apprehensive that the Government might take action involving an alteration in the mandate before the House had had an opportunity to consider it he could give the House an assurance straight away that the House would be consulted. Turning to the question of the closing of the quota of immigrants in the next six-monthly period, because of the volume of illegal immigration, Mr MacDonald stated: "We should be committing a breach of the White Paper policy if we had not taken that decision. The Government was not indifferent to the fate of refugees from Central Europe. The very reverse was the truth. The 'Government did m l believe that Palestine could provide a solution of the whole refugee problem.” Mr MacDonald concluded by giving figures for illegal immigration into Palestine and stated that about 8000 illegal immigrants had either go! into Palestine or were about to go there. About 40 per cent of these illegal immigrants did not come from Germany but from Poland and Rumania. Attempt to Smash Policy “What is going on about the immigration of Polish and Rumanian Jews makes it perfectly clear that this is an organised movement to break the immigration law in Palestine, for the sake of breaking the law,” said Mr MacDonald. “It is an organised movement to try to smash the White Paper policy for the sake of smashing that policy. I say that it is a condition that we cannot tolerate. It is designed to make the Arab population suspicious of the sincerity of Britain in carrying out the White Paper policy. This illegal immigration is aggravating. “Bitter hostility and hatred exists between the Arabs and Jews in Palestine. I think that we are entitled to appeal to the Jewish authorities and Jewish people to put a check upon this. “Whatever may have been happening to them in other parts otf the world, inside the British Empire they have always enjoyed absolute equality of status and rights with other subjects of -the King. Now, in a time of the greatest trouble the British people are their very best friends.” MISSIONARY CAPTURED £IOOO RANSOM DEMANDED OUTRAGE BY ARMED ARABS UllM»*fl T»*l Tonv’-ifftit) (Received July 21, 3.10 p.m.) JERUSALEM, July 20 Eleven armed Arabs kidnapped an American missionary, Mr Gerald Goldner, in the hills between Bethlehem and the Dead Sea, demanding £IOOO ransom. SHOOTING OF ARABS FIVE KILLED, EIGHT INJURED (United Press Assn.—Elec. Tel. Copyrtsrnt) JERUSALEM, July 20 Five Arabs were killed and eight injured in eight shootings in the neighbourhood of Tel-Aviv and Rehobeth. Curfew has been applied and warnings have been issued to Arabs to avoid the Jewish areas.