Harry Snell, British Labor member of parliament, who was a member of the Shaw Commission which investigated the Palestine disorders of last year, is firmly convinced that the Labor Party, which now governs Great Britain, is in favor of the creation of a Jewish National Home in Palestine. He believes that the majority of the members of his party is in agreement with his conclusions and with the recommendations which he made in his minority report, in which he dissented from the opinions of the other members of the Shaw Commission.
Mr. Snell, who arrived in New York, Friday, in order to address the Washington conference of the American Jewish Congress, said, in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that “although I can understand the concern of Jews over the recent developments in Palestine, there is no reason to be discouraged. Every nation at some time or other goes through a critical period, but this is no reason for despair. I am convinced that the present difficulties in Palestine, which are a result of the happenings during the summer of 1929, are of a temporary character, and I hope that they will in time disappear.”
Speaking of the relations between Jews and Arabs, Mr. Snell said: “I am certain that an understanding between the Jews and Arabs is possible, for it is in the interests of both peoples to live together in peace.”
Asked whether the recent actions of the British Labor government with regard to Palestine are in harmony with the convictions of the majority of the British Labor Party, Mr. Snell replied:
“The duty of a government is to conduct the government business. The present government is not responsible to the Labor Party, but to Parliament. It happens naturally that Labor deputies sometimes vote in Parliament against certain actions of the Labor government.”
“Everything depends now on the report of Sir John Simpson, who has investigated the immigration problem in Palestine. But whatever Sir John’s recommendations may be, Jews need not be discouraged, for with the improvement of economic conditions in Palestine, more possibilities for an enlarged immigration will be created.”
Mr. Snell finally stated that his present task in America is “to make my contribution toward the solution of the race problem in Palestine and to aid in the efforts that are being made towards a Jewish-Arab reconciliation.”
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.
