Arab Counter-proposals to British Plan Insist on Palestine Becoming an Arab State

The delegations of the seven Arab states attending the conference on Palestine today completed the formulation of their counter-proposals to the British scheme for “provincial autonomy” and will submit them to the conference either tomorrow afternoon or Tuesday morning.

The Arab counter-proposals are based primarily on the demand that Palestine be established as an independent Arab state with equal rights for Jews, guaranteeing the existence of “a Jewish National Home,” but without territorial constitution.

The Arab delegations, however, continue to insist in their counter-proposals upon the cessation of Jewish immigration to Palestine and the halting of land sales to Jews there. The delegation from Transjordan is expected later to submit a plan for the creation of a Greater Syria which would provide for the establishment of a Jewish autonomous regime within a Palestine-Transjordan-Syrian-Lebanese federation. However, there are no indications that this plan will be supported by Syria and Lebanon or by the Arab League.

BOARD OF DEPUTIES VOTES NOT TO ATTEND PARLEY WITHOUT JEWISH AGENCY

The Board of Deputies of British Jews today decided to endorse the recommendation of its executive committee that the organization should not attend the conference on Palestine without the Jewish Agency. Only a few participants at today’s session abstained from voting.

Prof. Selig Brodetsky, president, reported to the session that unity has been achieved among all Jewish organizations which received invitations from the British Government to attend the parley. “The Board of Deputies,” he said, “cannot participate in the conference, if the establishment of a Jewish state is ruled out.” During the debate which followed his report, the Revisionist and Agudist members of the Board spoke against the partitioning of Palestine.

Dr. Nahum Goldmann, member of the Jewish Agency executive, today told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that the Agency’s readiness to participate in the conference on the basis of a plan for a “viable Jewish state” does not mean that he expects the British Government to put forward a partition plan, but that the government should indicate its willingness to discuss such a plan when it is presented by the Jewish Agency. He stressed that the Agency is not interested in other plans now being discussed by Britain and the Arabs.

The Jewish Agency, Dr. Goldmann emphasized, will enter the conference only for discussion of the Agency’s plan. He added that the conference has not yet reached the stage at which the Agency’s participation would be possible.

The final clarification of the attitude of the Agudas Israel with regard to participating in the conference is expected within the next few days, following the arrival here today from Paris of Rabbi Isaac Meyer Levin, chairman of the world executive of the Agudah, and of F. Gelezuter and Rabbi Amram Blau, Palestine leaders of Agudah.