Palestine must be a bi-racial State in which Jews and Arabs will enjoy equal rights for ever, regardless which of the two people is in the majority, and the problems of the Jewish National Home must be solved by mutual understanding between them both, says a statement issued to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency here by the Brith Shalom, the organization of Palestine Jews which is seeking to bring about a peaceful understanding between the Jews and Arabs on the basis of the principle of establishing Palestine as a bi-national Jewish-Arab state, in place of the idea of a Jewish state.
The Jewish centre in Palestine, the statement says, will become a reality only if the Jewish population grows numerically. The Brith Shalom is in favor of a representative government being set up in Palestine, and it will cooperate with the Arabs in order to secure this, as soon as guarantees are provided that Jewish national development will not thereby be barred.
Dr. Hans Kohn, who belongs to the Brith Shalom movement, defines it in his book, “The History of the National Movement in the Orient,” in the following way: “Against the political-national tendency of Zionism which followed Herzl, there is another tendency which aims at a cooperation on the basis of equal rights between the two peoples who are intimately identified with Palestine. For this Zionist group, Palestine is not to become a Jewish state, but a commonwealth, in which two peoples enjoying equal rights will live together, without there being a state-people which can force its will upon the other people.” He proceeds to quote in this connection Dr. Arthur Ruppin, formerly head of the Zionist colonization work in Palestine, who, speaking at the Four- (Continued on Page 4)
“There has also been a good deal of discussion among Palestine Jewry on the proposal that the Jews should support the Arab demand for a Legislative Assembly in Palestine. Dr. Hugo Bergmann, librarian of the Hebrew University and Jewish National Library, who is also identified with the Brith Shalom movement, urged this at a public meeting in Jerusalem recently. It would be dangerous for the Jews, he said, to stand out unconditionally against the demand for a Legislative Assembly, and allow it to be forced upon us, while today, if we meet the Arabs half-way, we shall be able to obtain certain rights which will not diminish our rights and aspirations.”
Newton D. Baker and Professor Carleton I.H. Hayes have been elected co-chairmen of the National Conference of Jews and Christians, according to an announcement made by the executive board of the organization. Roger W. Straus, chairman for the past year, will continue as a third co-chairman.
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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.
