The Times, in an editorial today, argued against immediate suspension of Jewish immigration into Palestine on the grounds that it would bias the Royal Commission’s inquiry into current disorders, shake the confidence of the Jews and not satisfy Arab terrorists.
Characterizing suspension as uncourageous and illogical, the editorial said the terrorists, learning that violence pays, would demand more. “Timidity is not a political asset.” The Times asserted.
It is inconceivable that the Government should contemplate suspension of immigration before the Royal Commission reports that it is necessary economically, the editorial declared.
It held that recent developments prove that Arab terrorists cannot be controlled by the Arab Strike Committee and that they are encouraged by the failure of Government measures to check violence. It attributed this failure to the nature of the country, the negligence of the administration in disarming the Arabs between 1919 and 1930, the policy of the judicature and mainly by the lack of martial law.
It is not surprising that the patience of the Jews has become most strained. The Times added.
A suggestion that the Arab-Jewish dispute be laid before the Hague Tribunal was made by W.H. Stoker, leading counsel to the Arab Executive before the commission which investigated anti-Jewish disorders of 1929. In a letter to The Times he said it was impossible for Great Britain to back out of its mandate obligations under the provisions of the League of Nations covenant.
The Daily Telegraph criticized the Palestine Government for failing to check the outbreaks while they were still brewing.
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.
