The present negotiations between the British government and the Jewish Agency are the result of Premier MacDonald’s personal intervention, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency learns today from an absolutely reliable source. This source points out that the Jewish Agency would never have entered into negotiations with the government so long as the White Paper was not withdrawn if Premier MacDonald, under his own signature, had not addressed an invitation to Dr. Chaim Weizmann saying, “let’s put the White Paper aside for the moment and consider the situation as is.”
Accepting this invitation the Agency’s political commission nevertheless found it politically wise to devote the first session of the conference not to submitting demands but to reviewing the injustices contained in the White Paper’s recommendations. This was to serve as a stepping stone by which the government would indirectly be advised of the character that the Jewish demands would have when submitted at further sessions.
The minutes of the first session were sent out today as a secret document to the parties concerned. In his two and a half hour speech Dr. Weizmann pointed out that the Jewish Agency would never accept the recommendations on immigration contained in the White Paper and that it would oppose the legislative council.
Touching on immigration he said that the number of Jewish immigrants must be fixed not by Arab unemployment nor even by Jewish unemployment but by the possibilities of employment offered to the new arrivals. Referring to the legislative council, Dr. Weizmann made it clear that while the Jews had agreed to participate in a legislative assembly in 1922 they would not do so now.
He pointed out that in 1922 the extreme section of the Arabs was unpopular with the Palestine government but since then because the extreme Arabs have gained a larger influence the Palestine government submitted constantly to their demands and even encouraged them in many ways. In addition to this, he stated, Palestine officials who will become members of the legislative council are no longer trusted by the Jewish people to carry out the obligations of the Mandate.
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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.
