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Lord Melchett Gives Lie to Mufti’s Allegation He Spoke of Restoring Temple

September 27, 1929
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An attempt made by Amin el Husseini, Moslem Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, to support his charge that the Jews of Palestine have designs on the Mosque of Omar area, by quoting an alleged statement by Lord Melchett, was declared “unscrupulous propaganda” by Lord Melchett in a statement he issued to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency here.

The Grand Mufti in a letter addressed to Pierre Van Paassen, special correspondent of the New York “Evening World” and the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, quoted Lord Melchett as having said, “I will consecrate the remainder of my life to the rebuilding of the Jewish Temple.” It was this rumor which was spread among the Moslems of Palestine which was said to be responsible for gathering the Moslem villagers to Jerusalem on August 23, and causing the outbreaks.

“I should like to make it clear that I never made any statement of the kind referred to in connection with the remains of the Temple in Jerusalem,” Lord Melchett declared. “Any attempt to connect any words which I said with (Continued on Page 4)

such an idea is merely unscrupulous propaganda, which is to be expected from the man who was condemned to seven years imprisonment by a British tribunal for endeavoring to stir up racial strife in Palestine and who misused the amnesty extended to him to go on repeating his tactics of the past.

“I frequently stated I would consecrate such strength and force as remained during my life to rebuilding Eretz Israel and the development of Palestine, which is as much in the interest of the Arab population as that of the Jews. From my very earliest connections with Palestine matters, I always stressed the necessity of friendly cooperation between the two branches of the Semitic race-the Jews and Arabs. I think it is most disastrous that certain unscrupulous agitators should for their own personal reasons, which are well known, continually interfere with what could be a most fruitful and friendly working together,” Lord Melchett declared.

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