Mrs. Margaret McKay, the pro-Arab Labor MP, has run into legal and financial difficulties in her efforts to establish an Arab propaganda and cultural center in London. Mrs. McKay, who claims honorary membership in El Fatah, the Palestinian guerrilla organization, has taken a 17-year lease on two five story buildings in the Chelsea district. She paid $110,000 which was donated for the purpose by Sheikh Zaid, of Abu Dahbi, an oil-rich Arab principality on the Persian Gulf. But the Sheikh’s contribution, which totals $120,000, covers only the decoration of the premises with no funds left over to run the center. The owners of the two buildings moreover have objected to the use contemplated for them.
The land belongs to the estate of the Earl of Cadogan and the leases, originally granted in 1887, allow the premises to be used only as a domestic residence or a girls’ finishing school. The owners now insist on compliance with the original terms of the lease.
JTA has documented Jewish history in real-time for over a century. Keep our journalism strong by joining us in supporting independent, award-winning reporting.
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.
