Feb. 15.
Now that the Arab and Jewish cases have been put luefore the Palestine Conference, the impression created is that the two Peoples "are so far apart in their claims as} fo what should be done for a settlement of the present dispute that the task of recon-oiling them will in all probability prove im-Possible of accomplishment. 'The Arabs have! demanded—t, complete independence; 2, abandonment' of the attempt to establish a Jewish national home in Palestine; 3, abyogation of the Mandate and its replacement by treaty creating Palestine a sovereign Arab state, and 4, immediate cessation of Jewish immigration "and sales of land to the Jews. 'The Arabs have stated their willingness to negotiate in a conciliatory spirit (or conditions under which reasonable British interests, shall be safeguarded; to approve necessary' guarantees for the preservation of and the: right of access to all holy places and for the protection of all legitimate rights of] Jewish and other minorities in Palestine, but they consider that measures which have been taken under the Mandate, such as the facili ties given to Jews to enter Palestine, to acquire land and other exceptional privileges, have rendered it null and void, and worthy: of abrogation. All this amounts to a demand. for unconditional surrender by Great Britain to the Arabs, and the dependence upon Arab' goodwill for' the protection of vital British' Interests in the eastern Mediterranean. It is in the circumstances extremely unlikely that] anything approaching these terms will ever be conceded by Great Britain, while it is! perfectly obvious that they will be bitterly opposed by the Jews themselves, who would sce in any such surrender their own relin~ quishment as' a minority to the mercies of an independent Arab state, This is not to] deny that the Arabs have a great deal Justice on their side. Their claims to Pales~ tine are centuries old, and while a very much longer time ago the' land was undoubtedly Jewish, usage since the most of them were] dispersed into other lands justifies to a very great extent the Arab claims. They are most certainly not to be dispossessed.
The Jewish statement which was published! in London yesterday' is equally as forthright that of the Arabs, indeed in the abridged version which has come to hand it is possible to perceive traces of defiance. If the statement that the Jews did not want to dominate the Arabs, but would not allow themselves! to be dominated by them has any meaning, whatever, it must surely be that they desire! an equality of status with them, but when they deny that Palestine is an Arab land, supporting their contention with the allegation that the Jews already form one-third the population and were responsible for] two-thirds of the economic activity of the country, they have in all probability placed their finger on what is really the cause of! Arab complaint. Economic dominance is but short step from political control, und from political control there is no very' great distance to the perfection of a Jewish state with the Arabs reduced to that minority' status which they are seeking so earnestly to resist. 'That there have always been some 'Jews in the country seems to be relied upon 'a8 proving some degree of continuity of tenour. It is by no moans a strong argument. Nor' is it strengthened by the conten tion that for the last 60 years active resettlement work has been going, on: this latter does nothing more than to show the shortness: of the term of Jewish resurgence in Palestine as compared with the many centuries of Arab ownership. So long as the Jews follow a policy which is obviously designed to create a Jewish state at the expense of] the Arabs, so long will it be impossible to} secure agreement between the two peoples. A Jewish state in Palestine was never contemplated by Great Britain. The very specific limitations enunciated in the Balfour: Declaration support that view, for it was clearly laid down that nothing should be done which might prejudice the civil and religious] rights of existing non-Jewish communities] in Palestine. The creation of a Jewish state] would undoubtedly constitute an_ infringe ment of the civil rights of existing non-Jewish communities in the country, for the Arabs would be placed at a disadvantage! which they are strenuously seeking to avoid.
'The continuance of a policy permitting unlimited immigration of Jews into Palestine' would in itself constitute such an infringement, as tending ultimately to bring about a! Jewish predominance in population, and! reducing the Arabs to a minority status, so} that it is obvious that sooner or later a line, will have to be drawn in order that the implications contained in the Balfour Declaration shall not be robbed of their effectiveness. Even if this were not done, and/ Palestine continued to accept an unrestricted immigration of Jews, it would not solve the question of the Jewish refugees who are now fleeing from Europe, and. the larger numbers who may eventually be forced to follow suit. Palestine does not, therefore, present a solution of this important phase of the general] difficulty, and other parts of the world will] have to be found where they can be accommodate. Consequently the Palestinian dis-[pute ranks insignificantly with the major problem which has been presented by European developments recently, and for that reason it {s urgently desirable that a solution to maintain law and order in their own terri-should be found. Nevertheless in view of} tory, and it is in the fulfilment of their very the uncompromising attitude of the delega-obvious duty that the only possible cotions to the Conference as indicated in their Speration with the authorities of the foreign two statements it is apparent that it will be areas is to be found. EMcieney outside the difficult if not impossible to find an adequate foreign areas as thorough us that within them solution in which justice can te done all the only solution of a very grave problem. round. There is a danger that eventually In this connection the "shadow boxing," in some settlement will be reached doing a which the lead is taken by the very ingenuous degree of justice all round, but complete with "Tairiku Shimpo," assumes features which regard to neither of the principal disputants. are not unamusing. Referring to the state-That may not be reached at. this present ment issued by the Municipal Council, on the Conference which has about it few signs of subject of Japanese consular representations ultimate success, and it may even now prove regarding political assassinations within to be the ease, that with failure to reach a the foreign areas, the Japanese contemporary compromise, the task will devolve upon describes the action of the Council in doing Great Britain of devising and imposing a 0 og "ungentlemanly." It to seck to correct means of settlement. That will undoubtedly false impressions created by the statements please neither Arab nor Jew, but then neither of Japanese authorities is displeasing to them will any other arrangement. Attempls to do—for naturally they would like their own so in the past have failed, as witness the version to be accepted as correct—that is one Partition Plan. They are just as likely to! thing; to dub it as ungentlemanly conduct is fail in the future, and if the average Briton entirely another. But gentlemen seek to per~ would like to sce the Government throw its! petuate the truth, and the obvious mis-state-hand in, with a ery of "A plague on both your: ments in which' the Japanese press have houses" it would be a very human feeling recently been indulging most certainly deprive but not a worthy one in view of the British them of any authority on the subject of good interests in that part of the world which are manners. What there is behind the en-also involved. couragement of prevailing lawlessness in the western area, and the agitation by the Japanese press is not dificult to guess. It is
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.