Says Irresponsible Jews, Brith Shalom, Create Undesirable Situation

“An undesirable situation has developed in Palestine due to the activities of the Brith Shalom Society and some individual irresponsible members of the Jewish community who have taken upon their own initiative the entering into negotiations with the Arabs with regard to the establishment of a Parliament in Palestine,” Rabbi Aaron Teitelbaum stated on his return from Palestine.

A well-known New York rabbi, and a resident of Jerusalem before the war, Rabbi Teitelbaum visited Palestine five times during the last ten years, keeping in constant touch with the development of the Jewish world in Palestine, in which he is actively interested as one of the leaders of the Mizrachi World Organization.

“There are two things on which all the Jews in Palestine agree,” said Rabbi Teitelbaum. “First, that the British administration is to be blamed for the tragic occurrences, and all groups of the Palestine Jewish community feel that the removal of some of the culpable officials is a condition sine qua non for the reestablishment of peace and orderly conditions in the country. Second, all Jews, regardless of party affiliation, feel that amicable relations with the Arabs should be reestablished. The existence of a society which declares peace with the Arabs to be the main plank in its program, confuses the public and creates the unjustified impression that there are groups within the Zionist Organization which do not desire peace.

“The Brith Shalom Society consists mostly of people who are in the country only two or three years, are not rooted, and have not that inner contact with Jewish life and conditions in Palestine, without which their political activities are based on misconception. For centuries the Jews and Moslems have lived not only peacefully side by side, but in true harmony and friendship. That this relationship has been not entirely maintained since the British have assumed the administration of the country, can be traced to the influence of professional agitators, and the ill-conceived methods of administration employed by the British officials in Palestine. There is not a single Jew in Palestine who does not realize that without the reestablishment of peaceful relations with the Arabs, the Zionists will not be in a position to pursue their splendid activities as effectively as they should, but the reestablishment of peace, and negotiations with the Arab leaders with regard to the establishment of a Parliament, are two entirely different things.

“The Arab realizes that Zionist colonization has benefited him greatly. All the fervent agitation carried on by the effendi and by the Mufti during the last months has only swayed a very small part of the Arab population, a fact which is significant and should be borne in mind as an indication of the real sentiment of the Arab population toward the Jew. The majority of the Arabs realize that the Jews did not come to Palestine with hostile intentions but with the desire to better the country, for the benefit of all its inhabitants.

“Had the British administration not utterly failed, had the government maintained order and peace as effectively as is done in England and in any other civilized country of the world, Palestine would have been spared the tragic experiences of the last months. The Jews in Palestine have been deeply disappointed that the British government did not take immediate measures against all those responsible for the outbreak and who have obviously lacked foresight and have not displayed that energy in dealing with the situation which was required. Even in Russia, the first thing the government would do after a pogrom, was the dismissal of the entire administration of the city or the district where Jewish blood had been shed, and only those officials were reinstated who, after investigation, were found to be blameless.

“That the Palestine administration, which was charged with responsibility with regard to the outbreaks, should have conducted the inquiry and gathered the testimony before the Inquiry Commission arrived, was to the Palestine Jewish population deeply disappointing.

“All Jews in Palestine truly admir (Continued on Page 4)

“I deplore,” Rabbi Teitelbaum continued, “the presence in Palestine of outsiders, who meddle unnecessarily in our affairs, and I have particularly in mind the well-known English journalist, John Philby, who has come to Palestine with a ready-made Constitution, proposing an Arab-Jewish codominion as the solution. This plan provides for the establishment of a Parliament.

“If all those who have been guilty in the recent outrages will have received their deserved punishment, if all these trials will be over, I am confident that a calmer atmosphere will prevail. If the Jew and the Arab will be left to themselves I have no doubt that their relations will again assume that character of friendliness which always characterized them. The less interference there will be from outside, even from well-meaning sources, the better. The attempt of some highly placed members of the Jewish community to conduct political work at this critical juncture, must be condemned. At no other time was discipline so necessary a at present. The Executive of the Jewish Agency, together with the Vaad Leumi, are the only bodies which should conduct negotiations and be responsible for whatever political action is taken in Palestine,” Rabbi Teitelbaum declared.

“One hundred thousand pounds will be required for relief work in Palestine, but the sum of £400,000 will have to be spent on reconstructing those Jewish positions which have been destroyed during the recent disturbances, Rabbi Teitelbaum further stated. “Committees have been established in various parts of the country in order to investigate conditions and devise plans for the rebuilding of the Jewish quarters which have been destroyed. The committee which will be in charge of the reconstruction work will be under the auspices of the Executive of the Jewish Agency, in conjunction with the Vaad Leumi,” he concluded.