House of Lords Debates Internationalization of Jerusalem; Hears Government Views

The British Government is opposed to the internationalization of the Old City of Jerusalem alone, Viscount Jowett, Lord Chancellor, declared tonight during a debate in the House of Lords on the question.

Viscount Jowett, who said that he could not commit the government to sponsorship of any specific plan regarding Jerusalem, declared that the government favored the internationalization of the entire Jerusalem area, as proposed by the United Nations? Although he added that until concrete proposals are submitted the government would not comment favorably on any plan, he stressed that the solution of the Jerusalem problem was part of the general Palestine settlement and could not be isolated from it.

The Archbishop of York opened the debate by calling for a government declaration on placing the city and its environs under international control. He said that Christians were not asking for special privileges in Jerusalem and referred to three separate statements by Pope Pius XII on that question. The Archbishop declared that he hated anti-Semitism as a sin against God and. man, but it was a different matter to oppose some of the political ambitions of the Zionists.

Partition of Jerusalem would he opposed by Jews and Christians, he asserted, and would lead to friction. Recalling that Israeli President Chain Weizmann had said that fullest guarantees would be given for the Protection of Holy places and access to them, the Archbishop said that all people respected Dr. Weizmann but he questioned whether the Israeli Government was strong enough to control fanatics, and pointed to the assassination of Count Folke Bernadotte.

SPEAKERS URGE INTERNATIONALIZATION OF CITY; DOUBT JEWS WILL ACCEPT IT

Lord Altringham, referring to the United Nations partition decision of 1947, said, “until the United Nations puts that terrible wrong to right, that organization will carry the brand of Cain.” The decision was not only a violation of the original intention, he said, but a violation of the U.N. Charter as well. “Stable peace is past praying for,” said Lord Altringham. “The dragons’ teeth have been sown and the best hope, I fear, is simply managing somehow to secure for the time being an uneasy armistice. But even now one U.N. decision can be redeemed and enforced–the internationalization of Jerusalem,”

The Earl of Perth, speaking as a Catholic, said his remarks should not be taken as Liberal Party opinion. The task of the U.N. Jerusalem Committee was to promote agreement between Arabs and Jews, he observed. There was danger that to reach agreement, they might minimize the Christian state in Palestine and abandon internationalization for Jerusalem. He doubted whether Israel was willing or able to accept internationalization because every Israeli passionately desires the inclusion of Jerusalem or part of it in Israel.

Lord Strabolgi heatedly referred to the bombardment of Jerusalem during the Palestine war as “disgraceful and scandalous” and said the U.N. should have a strong international police force capable of preventing bombardment of the city.