Sir Harold MacMichael, High Commissioner for Palestine, has warned the population to abstain from “too much talk regarding dreadful dangers looming in Palestine” and “rights of self-defense.”
In a New Year message broadcast over the Palestine radio, the High Commissioner assured the people that he is not inclined to minimize any dangers, but added that “nothing can be gained from exaggerations.” He called upon “profiteers of politics” not to be blind to the needs of the future and to their ultimate self-interests. A distinction, must be drawn, he said, between “household time” and “historical time.” He appealed to the population to give up “narrow sectarianism, squabbles and demagogy.”
“Self-controlled exclusiveness,” he declared, “naturally induces a reciprocal attitude. The result is certainly dangerous for the prospects of well-being and security. Is it too much to ask from any man to look ahead for a few generations instead of limiting his outlook and ambitions to his own brief span of life? Any people is mistaken in claiming for itself complete culture and unity and self-sufficiency. The same is true of claiming its own particular share in the formation of traditions and standards accepted by civilized people, as an exclusively original achievement owing nothing to the rest. This leads us to nothing but glorified parochialism.
“But the day of perpetuation of this misconception is surely past,” the High Commissioner continued. “The new generation must look ahead as well as backwards. It must cease to incessantly harp upon sorrows or glories of yesterday. While preserving the best of its own traditions, it must remember the foundations common to all civilization and set itself to the noble work of good citizenship and friendliness for whatever the future of the Mid-East be, if it isn’t to be chaos permeated by animosity.
“Narrow sectarianism, squabbles and demagogy will lead to nothing but to demoralization, retardation of weak hopes, futile rivalries and economic ruin,” he warned. “The conception of self-sufficiency is narrow, and barren and foolish. I realize that this warning is inappropriate for many of my hearers – for the decent, honest citizens of every race and those content to carry out their duties in loyalty, and above all for the fighting forces,” he concluded.
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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.
