Sir John Chancellor on Jew and Arab in Palestine: Arab Population Increasing by 25,000 a Year He Say

The Arab population in Palestine is increasing by 25,000 a year. Palestine is a small and a poor country, and in view of the natural absorptive capacity of this small and poor country, this increase is going to create a political and economic problem which I cannot touch upon to-night, Sir John Chancellor, late High Commissioner for Palestine said, when he spoke at a meeting held here this evening at the home of Lord Headley, President of the British Moslem Society, organised by the Near and Middle East Association in furtherance of the work of the Save the Children Fund.

Sir Arnold Wilson, who presided, said that when the dust of conflict died down-it was already dying down-it would be realised by both sides that Sir John Chancellor of all the High Commissioners for Palestine was the one who most clearly saw the good points of one side, and was most forgiving and tolerant of some of the bad points of the other.

The object of this meeting, he went on, is to raise funds to enable the Save the Children Fund to aid Arab children in Palestine. The fund works irrespective of creed.

In regard to Palestine, Sir Arnold continued, I would say that I feel sure that all the representatives of Iraq and Palestine present here to-night will agree with me when I say that the problem for the Arab is not whether he can “stand alone” in the phrase of Article 22 of the League of Nations Covenant, but whether he can keep in step with the rest of the nations of the world. Keeping in step is not to be achieved by in the towns and villages, welfare centres, from which some educative influence can radiate.

SIR ARNOLD WILSON SEES PROBLEM OF UNIQUE DIFFICULTY IN PALESTINE: TWO DIFFERENT SETS OF RACES LIVING TOGETHER: JEWISH COMMUNITY VERY HEALTHY AND WITH LOW CHILD DEATH RATE: WHILE ARABS HAVE INCREASING DIFFICULTY IN MODIFYING WAYS TO ACCORD WITH NEW ENVIRONMENT

In Palestine, he said, we are faced with a problem of unique difficulty, for here we have two different sets of races living together in colonies, etc. close by each other. One, the Jewish community, is very healthy, and with a low death rate among children, and on the other hand are the Arab population, who have been by our own act and by the economic tendency transported from nomadism and made within a single generation town dwellers. It is evident that they should have increasing difficulty in modifying their customs and ways to accord with their comparatively new environment.

We wish to extend our activities in Palestine, Sir Arnold concluded, especially in Haifa, where work has begun in one particular welfare centre. The condition of the Arab children leaves much to be desired. We would like to see the work of that welfare centre extend and radiate an influence, and also to see it multiply.

I confess, Sir John Chancellor said, referring to Sir Arnold Wilson’s remark about himself, that I have not received many bouquets so far. I am pleased to come here to-night to do something to improve the hygienic conditions of the non-Jewish children of Palestine.

Sir Arnold said, he went on, that the Save the Children Fund worked irrespective of race and creed, and some of you may be surprised to find me here taking a special interest in the care of non-Jewish children. You might ask why this discrimination between Jewish and non-Jewish children? The Jewish children of Palestine are fortunate in having provided for them by their own people a public health organisation. What they have done in Palestine is indeed very remarkable. It is a marvellous record of the zealous application of knowledge regarding health. It is a record of what has been done by the Jewish population, but it is also an indication of what could be done by the Save the Children Fund for the Arab population.

After the British occupation, the Hadassah Medical Organisation was set up in Palestine from subscriptions made by the Jews of the world. This medical organisation, with its five hospitals, twenty-one child welfare centres, maternity centres and clinics, has done and is doing admirable work among the Jewish people in Palestine.

Thon there is the wonderful Nathan Straus Health Centre in Jerusalem, set up by the benefactor with the request that it be open to both Arab and Jew. The Jews readily admit Arabs to all their hospitals and clinics, but on account of difference of language, and other reasons, the Arabs do not avail themselves of the offer extended to them. Nevertheless, they are welcome when they go.

WHEN PUBLIC HEALTH ORGANISATIONS WERE STARTED JEWS WERE SCORNFUL OF GOVERNMENT HELP SIR JOHN CHANCELLOR SAYS: NOW SUBSCRIPTIONS NOT COMING IN SO FREELY AND QUESTION OF GOVERNMENT HELP BEEN SPOKEN OF: I HOPE JEWISH HEALTH ORGANISATIONS WILL BE MAINTAINED INDEPENDENTLY OF GOVERNMENT TO RELIEVE GOVERNMENT OF HEAVY EXPENSE

Then again, the Jewish Agency have done important work to improve health by drainage of the swamps in the Jewish colonies, Sir John Chancellor declared. The Jewish Labour Federation, a highly organised body, provides sick benefits for the Jewish worker. So from birth to middle-life, the whole of the Jewish population is amply provided for by public health organisations.

When the public health organisations were started, Sir, John said, they had ample funds, and the Jews were scornful of Government help. Now subscriptions are not coming in so freely, and the question of Government help has been spoken of. I hope the Jewish public health organisation will be maintained independently of the Government, so as to relieve the Government of a very heavy item of expense.

Jewish enthusiasm for hygiene is clearly evidenced in the Jewish schools. It is indeed a wonderful zeal that the Jewish children show. I visited the Evelina de Rothschild school in Jerusalem, where Miss Landau is the headmistress-a very remarkable lady-and she showed me with justifiable pride the facilities provided for the health of the children. I saw the dental clinic, the eye clinic,-eye disease is terribly prevalent and I saw the other facilities for the health and instruction of the children. As the result of all these measures on behalf of the Jewish population their health figures are very remarkable.

WHEN JEWISH COLONIES IN PALESTINE WERE FIRST FORMED THERE WAS LARGE MORTALITY RATE NOW DIMINISHED CONSIDERABLY BY SANITATION AND DRAINAGE: CURRENT JEWISH DEATH RATE 9.6 PER THOUSAND WHILE ARAB IS 27.9 PER THOUSAND: ONE CANNOT EXPECT THAT ZEAL FOR HYGIENE IN ARAB RURAL AREAS THAT JEWS HAVE SIR JOHN CHANCELLOR SAYS: BUT WHATEVER MONEY IS SUBSCRIBED FOR HEALTH WORK WILL NOT BE WASTED OR UNAPPRECIATED

When the colonies were first formed, the incidence of malaria was very heavy, Sir John said, and there was a large mortality rate. Now this has been diminished considerably by sanitation and drainage. The current death rate of the Jewish population is 9.6 per thousand, whereas the death rate among the Arabs is 27.9 per thousand.

I should mention in order to qualify the low figure I quoted in regard to the Jewish population that the 100,000 Jews who entered Palestine were for the most part carefully selected. They were comparatively young and certainly healthy. All the same, the difference in the figures I have quoted is very striking. The infant mortality rate among the Jews in 1930 was 69 per thousand, and this figure compares very favourably with England, where in 1931 it was 66 per thousand. The Arab infant mortality rate was 169 per thousand in 1930, and it was 204 per thousand in 1929.

That shows the great room there is for improvement in the health of the Arab population. I know one cannot expect that zeal for hygiene in Arab rural areas that the Jews have where they live. For one thing the Arabs suffered under the heavy hand of the Turks, and perhaps their fatalistic outlook has in the past had something to do with it. I would say that the Arabs are a very alert and an intelligent race, who are very proud of their traditions, and whatever money is subscribed will not be wasted or unappreciated.

The Arab population under the Turkish regime was practically stationery, he said. Now the birthrate of Arabs is 60 per thousand, and with the death rate nearly 28 per thousand, there is a striking difference of 32 per thousand. The Arab population is therefore increasing in round figures at the rate of 25,000 a year.

PALESTINE GOVERNMENT CAN NEVER HOPE TO PROVIDE PUBLIC HEALTH ORGANISATION IN PALESTINE ON SAME SCALE AS HADASSAH FOR JEWS: IT WOULD COST HALF THE ARAB REVENUE

Speaking of what the Government is doing for public health in Palestine, Sir John Chancellor said that there were 19 Government-maintained maternity infant welfare clinics for the Arab population, which represented five-sixths of the total people of the country, while the Jews have 21 for their sixth of the population. That shows you, he said, what a tremendous lot has to be done for the poor Arab children of Palestine. The Government can never hope to provide a public health organisation on the same scale as the Hadassah for the Jews. If we were to provide a medical organisation on the same scale as the Jewish one, it would cost half the Arab revenue. That is obviously quite out of the question.

I hope, he concluded, that the Save the Children Fund when it decides to do something for Arab children will cooperate with the Society of St. John of Jerusalem and the Public Health Department of the Government.

Hussein Bey Afnan, the Charge d’Affaires for Iraq, who described himself as a Palestinian in origin, said that it was very surprising that one section of the population in Palestine could have all the resources, and that the other race was not entirely exterminated by the lack of means. When we say Arab children, he went on, we use the phrase as denoting an Arab child of any Arabic-speaking country. The Arab child has not had a fair chance, he declared. Our children are very restless. The reason is that they have come in contact with a new civilisation and a new mode of living. In Palestine they imitate the British and endeavour to adapt themselves to influences that have come from outside their own country. This is an age of nationality, he concluded, and the Arab youth everywhere are seeking the realisation of their national aspirations. Whether the Arab is on this side of the Mediterranean or on the other side of the Persian Gulf, he is absorbed in his work for the realisation of his national aspirations.