the Editor of the "Noemi-Cama Day News"
'Sm—Your two correspondents DR. and Revisionisr have both answered the strictures contained' in your admirable leader captioned "Pale-tine Disorders" which appeared on July 12.- 1 do not wish to cover the same ground, but I think it would be highly desirable at this: juncture to correct your misconception. regarding. the subject of displaced Arabs about which you commented.
do not agree with your view which have been thoroughly disproved by experts, When the riots of 1929 took place it was said that. one of the main causes was that tens of thousands of Arabs had been dis-
tions carried out by experts ap-'The investiga land by Jewish
pointed by the Government revealed that over a period of 12 years there were only 656 heads of Arab families who had been so displaced. It then provided the sum of £250,000 for the settlement of the displaced Arabs lon fresh holdings, but by the end of 1094 only 43 availed themselves of the offer of the Government (which had acquired 17,868 dunams at a cost of £72240), the remainder' having become absorbed. again in agriculture or found other employ~ ment. Thus the "displaced Arabs" myth was completely disposed of in 1994. (Seo Palestine Government's Report for 1994).
The Arab leaders complain that, owing to the immigration of Jews, the existence of the Arabs in Pale-tine Is endangered. The fact is that since 1010 the Arabs have increased 80 per cent—trom 630,000. to (940,000, and their growth has been most marked in those districts where there has been the greatest progress in Jewish settlement. Before the War there was a steady emigration of Arabs from Palestine, but under the Mandatory regime there has been an infiltration of Arabs from the neighbouring countries, During. the last few years at least 24,000 Arabs from Syria, Transjordan and. especially the Hauran have entered Palestine to take advantage of the more favourable economic conditions: created by Jewish enterprise. 'There fg also the complaint made that the Jews are rapidly buying. up the greatest part of the Jand and that the 'Arabs are being driven away from it, In fact, the Jews, who number '400,000 and' are about 30 per cent. of the population, possess only 300,000 acres out of a total of six million acres, that is 5 per cent. Most of the land that the Jews have bought con~ sisted of the large estates of landlords living either abroad or at Haifa or Beirut, In Turkish times tenants could be evicted without compensa tion, but the Jewish colonizing agencies gave them compensation in every case of eviction and prepared the way for the laws for the protection of tenants. A great deal of the land, generally bought at a high price, was originally swampy, and the Jews have had to expend considerable money and labour in making it suitable for cultivation, Yet] the Arabs persist in alleging that the Jews have bought the most fertile land, During the.16 years of the British Administration, until the end of 1035, the Jews have' in all purchased very Mttle more and than they hed previously acquired under the Turks, although the latter had made no promise to facilitate the establishment] of the Jewish National Home, Be-' fore the War the amount purchased was 576,538 dunams" (about 144,120) eres); since the War the additional rea bought amounts to 697,440] dunams (about 166,860 acres), If the Jews went on purchasing land at the average rate of the last 15 years, Lo. ubout 11,000 acres per. annum, it] would take more than 100 years to purchase half of the cultivable land home, for] of Palestine, on the assumption that] the sale of' land will be free from any restriction, 'The Arabs allege that the Government discriminates against them, in respect of assistance in' various! spheres. The fact is that although the Jews, who form 30 per cent,, of the population, contribute over 50 cent, of the public: revenue, the Arabs receive far more than they are entitled to either on the basis of their numbers or of their contribu-_ tion to the State's revenue, Thus on education the Government spends over £168,000 on the Arabs, and less: than £84,000 on the Jews. (Pales-. gal stage in the, War, was of such and] p.134). Out ofa total expenditure of [speech in the House of Commons, it only £22300 was granted to Jewish Lloyd George, Prime Minister''during" medical services, (Report, 'p.161).
The Jewish share of employment in the Tater part of the Wat, sid do. not know whether the Hou Government public- works is 92 per Sfelemann with his: marvellous realises how ten cent. as regards the number of workers and 22.per cent. as regards breln, He. abscltaly. sated the wage-bill.. In facts already given in regard to grants of land to the snee Arabs also. show how unfounded is the charge about discrimination, fiat probiean "But he ig generally admitted that the progress: in 'Palestine is largely' due Bec Hi tan to the labour, capital and enterprise ves re ae. systematically' applied by the Jewish ances and promises given by the settlers. The Government up to last Bin MGoderert ae act year accumulated a surplus of about, might. be whittled away as 26,500,000, which is twice as much Tait amp nce, aod its annual expenditure. It is due to the enormous developments in emphasized that the agriculture, industry and commerce that the Government was able to Bee aden ort construct the harbour at~ Haifa, Sea Sea nantes tet Which is of far more than commer-Pear citer ye Beate cial importance, Thanks to the imwee ule ed soar proved financial position, the Gov-een ish Wee Sank ernment "has. reduced considerably 1919, and Mr. Winston Churchill in the duties on tea, coffee and sugar iis, ofer wratein rose (by 50 per cent.) and made large deta a lan remissions of arrears of tithes and Sida' tata tab Loan repayments. The Arabs, have, a Jewish, State, benefited directly in numerous ways as already shown, and notably also The Arab contention, that Sir Henry in building activity. - In the towns: acca ea es a with mixed population (Jerusalem, Mecca see ecaate Hoifs, Tiberias, Safed-and Jaffa) the Pent yin tee amount spent in building increased the addressed to the London "Times," from £430,500 in 1924 to. £3,740,000) cas of tha ahaa ciety in 1934, whilst the amount spent in purely 'Arab towns (Nablus, Aere, ace He Thing at Lydda, Gaza, Tulkarem, Nazareth, See Seems enter sets -ete.) rose inthe same period from repeated evidence before the Royal £51,160 to £128,000, hi he Sorta In' conclusion, let it be said that it in" two minds, and only half in vias in Palestina, that the Jews were Seat eet i toe ule welded into a nation; it was there Sack el" Se the that their language, literature, relibotham the eminent journalist: "Our gion, culture, customs, ideals, tradi-Bar line east u's tions were fashioned' and fostered Sipe neem oe "aes it was there that their kings ruled, ERS ie Sascey tht a their prophets taught, their psalmists also haven lee sang. Palestine was everything to the Jews, and the Jews were every-by Mr. thing to Palestine, for it was they who Lansing, the American representative, made it the Holy Land. On the other what he meant by. the Jewish Na-hand, the Arabs did not derive their tional "Home, he replied that, "there nationhood from Palestine; they, should ultimately be such conditions @erived it from Arabia, whence they that Palestine should be just their tongue and, Jewish as England is English, nutshell is the Zionist case, Shanghai, July 14, Fametay, Shanghai, July 15, What Britain Promised To the Baito##¥t'the "Nonmi-Cuina Dany News sie ere ell la is Sin,—Permit me to supplement your editorial footnote which was appended to AV.K's letter of enquiry. which appeared in today's issue of your esteemed paper, When the Balfour Declaration was Sssued on Nov. 2, 1917, a great Jewish demonstration was held a month later Jat the London Opera House for the, purpose of thanking the British Government for its Declaration. At this meeting Viscount (then Lord Robert) Cecil, a member of the Cabinet, said: Our' wish is that Arabian countries shall be for the Arabs, Armenia for the Armenians and Judaea for the Jews," and Sir Herbert Samuel, who had. been a member of the Cabinet until 1916 and had actively operated in securing the Declaration, said: "There must be no attempt now or in the future to establish anything in the nature of political authority from Palestine over the Jews scattered in other countries of] the world, who must probably always remain the great majority of the Jewish race'
Obviously there was no need to sound such a warning if it had not been contemplated that the: National Home should partake in some form or other, within a measurable period, of 8 Jewish State, Perhaps the most definite interpretation was.that given bby the "Manchester Guardian," which had distinguished itself by its staunch cause: fond systematic support of the Zionist
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.