The adjective “national” should not be omitted before “home” in discussing the attitude of Great Britain to the Mandate, a communique issued today by the British-Palestine Committee points out in criticizing the statement by Dr. Drummond Shiels, British under-secretary for the colonies, before the Mandates Commission. Dr. Shiels had said that the Jews must know that England had undertaken to establish a Jewish Home and not a Jewish State in Palestine.
The British-Palestine Committee headed by Herbert Sidebotham, noted British journalist, had much to do with the issuance of the Balfour Declaration. The Committee’s statement points out that the adjective “national” no doubt “introduced complications but Dr. Shiels cannot on that account be allowed to drop it from the promise. A National Home is a more difficult expression and must mean something and it would be interesting to hear Dr. Shiels’ definition of it but he must not define it by leaving it out.”
ATTEMPT TO CONCILIATE ARABS
The Committee’s communique recalls that Dr. Shiels’ statement is “merely the latest attempt of successive British governments to pursue a policy of conciliating the Arabs. These attempts have not only failed to conciliate but since the Eastern mind does not distinguish between conciliation and weakness it actually stiffened Arab resistance.”
“The more serious consequence of this policy is becoming apparent since the opinion of world Jewry is beginning to turn against Great Britain. Many Jews are becoming weary of our hesitation in the administration of the Mandate and our repeated attempts to narrow it down. The Jews are beginning to ask in desperation that the Mandate be taken from us and trans-
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
