The desire of the Palestine administration to avoid the appointment of either a Jew or an Arab as acting chief secretary of Palestine was responsible for the delegation of H. C. Luke, chief secretary and acting High Commissioner during the riots, to represent the British government at the forthcoming session of the Mandates Commission. This was the official explanation of the appointment of Mr. Luke, an appointment which had aroused criticism in Zionist quarters since severe complaints had been leveled against him by the Zionists.
The official explanation points out that High Commissioner Chancellor could not be sent to Geneva because he could not be spared in Palestine and because he was not in Palestine at the time of the outbreaks. If Assistant Chief Secretary Edward Mills were sent to Geneva it would have necessitated the appointment of either a Jew or an Arab as acting chief secretary and this the Palestine administration desired to avoid.
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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.