At least fifty Jewish merchants are wanted to rent shops and another fifty families to occupy houses, says a statement signed by ten leading Moslem and Christian residents of Nazareth, appealing to “Jewish associations” to restore economically the town in which Christ spent his youth, and to put out of action the tradesmen of the place who charge exorbitant prices and to wage war against the Arab money-lenders and usurers.
The ten signatories are: Taher Fahum, Mohamed Abdul Halim, Mohamed Sheriff, Omer Bedoui, Haj Daher Asaad, Said Abdul Halim, Yousef Sharib, Abdul Halim Ahmed, Abdul Hamid, and Abdul Halim Fahum.
Nazarenes, both Christians and Moslems, they say in a letter appearing in “Al Salaam” of Jerusalem, a Jewish publication in Arabic edited by Dr. Nissim Maloul, have been crying out for many years against the money-lenders of our city. They have appealed from time to time to the authorities and have now decided that the one thing that can save the town would be an infiltration of Jews. The writers, who are among the biggest property owners of Nazareth, declare they will let nothing dissuade them from the path on which they have embarked.
“We shall not be influenced by the lies and accusations of those who impute treason to the Fatherland to anyone who tries to fight against the economic crisis”, they writs. “We have taken an oath by God, by our Fatherland and history, that we shall carry out our programme in accordance with the dictates of our conscience and the general interests”.
Four reasons are given for the decline of Nazareth: tradespeople have formed a sort of trust for fixing prices and exploiting their customers; Arab money-lenders charge not less than 100 per cent. and protest their customers’ notes, later to sell their property at public auction, the money-lenders belonging to the class of ‘well known nationalists’; exclusion of outsiders from Nazareth, which has caused a catastrophic reduction in the rentals of houses and shops, and Nazareth merchants corner merchandise which they buy from the Jews, only to re-sell the goods to their Arab townspeople at exorbitant rates.
“On behalf of the overwhelming majority of property owners and consumers”, the petitioners conclude, “We declare that we would welcome a Jewish immigration, and we trust that the enlightened Jews with their financial and commercial associations will hasten to respond to our appeal. We have had enough of losses; we want a system of reciprocity and understanding; we are tired of the obstinacy of the money-lenders and shopkeepers who pursue a policy of boycott and preach hatred”.
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