“There is a growing sentiment that once the Arabs realize the inevitability of the Zionist effort in Palestine the Jews will be prepared to consent to such limitations of this effort as may be essential and just in the fair interests of the Palestine Arabs and will join forces in a policy serving the economic, cultural and political advantages of both sides.” This is the conclusion of a long article from Jerusalem published in the “London Times,” headed “Arab Hopes and Jewish Fears.”
The article points out that when the Shaw Commission’s report was published each side found its anticipation realized. “The Arab, ignoring the minor details of light and shade in the report does not hesitate to say he won his case,’ not implying that the Commission uttered a verdict of justifiable homicide. The Arabs claim that they cannot any longer be deprived of a parliament except by nullifying the Commission’s carefully considered findings.”
On the other hand the “Times” article says “the Jew, in spite of the Commission’s admitting that the disturbances took the form of a vicious attack of Arabs on Jews regards that he is given a sever scolding before the eyes of the entire world by the three commissioners and threatened with the prospect of crippling restrictions to be imposed on future attempts of reviving Palestine.”
Turning to the government aspect of the situation, the article declares that “MacDonald’s statement took some of the edge off the Arab hopes and Jewish fears, neither side seeing the Commission’s findings as a judgment against which there is no appeal. The after effects of August are still a feature in local life.
“The trials of murderers are still going on, ruined Jewish colonies still derelict and the boycott resulted in a general exodus of Jewish traders and residents from Arab centers. The secret arming which is going on among the Arabs and Jews is understandable as followed in Egypt among the British and other residents after the trouble of 1919.
“It indicates that fear is justified by the proved unreliability in the native police force. Meanwhile Transjordania remains an open market for arms trafficking, the bedouin population providing the middlemen.
“But a drop in the recriminations of the past year with its horrors and bitterness is beginning to be perceptible. A strong and clear statement of policy by the government will be welcomed on all sides.”
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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.
