A long-threatened strike by the city’s 1,200 Jewish and Arab shops went into effect today when the Government failed to meet demands for a Government program of rent regulation which would permit adjustment of rates downward as far as 40 per cent and ban summary evictions for non-payment of rent.
About 1,000 shops closed their doors, restaurants and cafes staying open only for lunchtime and during the evening. Action followed a visit yesterday by a delegation of Arab and Jewish merchants to Government Chief Secretary William D. Battershill.
In a memorandum, the delegation pointed out that retail business had dropped more than 50 per cent in the past three years, while rentals had risen sharply, in some cases as much as 100 per cent. A survey by the Jewish Merchants’ Association previously had attributed the depressed business conditions to decrease in Jews’ buying power, Arab boycotts of Jewish shops, drop in tourist trade and political uncertainty.
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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.
