Between the Lines

Should Jerusalem have a Jewish mayor?

This question is now the cause of an internal fight among Palestine Jews. With the defeat of Nashashibi as Mayor of Jerusalem in the last municipal elections, certain Jewish leaders in Palestine feel that for the first time in two thousand years the Jews now have their chance to rule Jerusalem by insisting that a Jewish mayor be appointed.

The demand that the city mayor of Jerusalem be a Jew is not based upon mere fantastic ambition. With the Jews and the Arabs holding six seats each in the municipal council, the chances of having a Jewish mayor appointed are as favorable as those for having an Arab mayor.

THE ARGUMENT AGAINST IT

On the other hand, certain Jewish circles in Palestine feel that it would be much better for the Jewish interests if the Jews did not insist on having a Jewish mayor but supported Mr. Khaldi, Nashashibi’s competitor, instead.

Jewish circles which prefer to support Khaldi argue that from a political viewpoint it is more beneficial to split the Arab ranks than to have a Jew as mayor. They feel that if Khaldi, and not a Jew, were appointed mayor, this would result in strong animosity between those Arab circles supporting Nashashibi and those siding with Khaldi. From this split the Arab ranks the Jews would benefit more than from having a Jewish mayor, who would only unite the Arabs against him.

What does the Palestine government say in this dispute?

The Palestine government has indicated that it will under no circumstances permit the mayor of Jerusalem to be a Jew. The government has plenty of trouble with the Arabs and would not like to aggravate it by endorsing a Jew as mayor, it has been intimated.

The temptation to take advantage of the present situation which makes it possible for a Jew to become the mayor of Jerusalem is however, too great for those Jewish circles in Palestine which feel that now is the time to see a Jew as the head of the capital of Palestine.

THE ENGLISHMAN STEPS IN

As a result of this internal difference in the Jewish ranks, the Palestine government may modify altogether the status of the mayoralty in Jerusalem. It may appoint a town clerk, who will do all the managing in the Jerusalem municipality. This clerk will, needless to say, be neither a Jew nor an Arab. He will be an Englishman.

Semi-official reports about the appointment of such a town clerk circulated this week in London. There is no doubt that the appointment of an Englishman as town clerk will take away all chances for the Jews ever to gain real control over the Jerusalem municipality. Furthermore, should a town clerk be appointed for Jerusalem, similar clerks may eventually be nominated also for the municipalities of Haifa and Tel Aviv.

The present dispute in Palestine may thus not only result in destroying the chances of having a Jewish mayor in Jerusalem. It may also eventually result in having the wholly Jewish city of Tel Aviv placed under the control of an Englishman.

For if once the system of town clerks is introduced in Jerusalem, who can tell whether it may not also be extended to Tel Aviv.