It develops that the Jews don’t get drunk much in Palestine.
A report on an investigation into the liquor traffic in Palestine made by Dr. J. W. P. Harkness, deputy director of medical services, shows that of 237 persons arrested for drunkenness during 1925 in towns selected for survey, 173 were Moslems, 43 Christians and only 22 Jews.
Of 464 persons arrested on the same charge in 1932, 345 were Moslems, 79 Christians and only 40 Jews.
The annual number of arrests for drunkenness per thousand of population in Palestine towns in 1932 showed 0.3 Jews in Jerusalem, 2.6 in Jaffa, 0.2 in Haifa and 0.07 in Tel Aviv.
“The figures indicate that the population of Palestine as a whole is extremely sober and temperate insofar as alcoholic indulgence is concerned,” says Dr. Harkness.
Police officers and members of the bench who were consulted held that drink as the sole cause of serious crime is relatively uncommon. In 1932 there were only six cases of road accidents due to drunkenness out of a total of 604.
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.
