Replying to a query put before the House of Commons today whether the new municipal ordinance for Palestine is now in operation, why Tel Aviv had been deprived of the power to levy rates on unoccapied land as heretofore and why the women of Jerusalem had been deprived of their vote while the women of Tel Aviv retain the franchise, Malcolm McDonald said:
“The municipal corporation ordinance in Palestine was enacted on January 12. In section 102, it is provided that a Municipal Council with the approval of the district commissioner may levy a municipal property rate to be assessed inter alia upon the rate-able value of unoccupied land.
“I have no information that power to impose such a rate has been withheld in the case of the municipal council of Tel Aviv.
“The ordinance provides for the grant of votes to women in Tel Aviv because this is known to be in accordance with the wishes of the local community.
“In the case of Haifa and Jerusalem, and other municipal areas, the ordinance provides machinery by which an alteration in the qualification of voters, including the grant of the vote to women, may be made in cases where it has two-third support.”
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.
