Suspicious Zeal in Jerusalem

The Palestine Post speaking of the unusual zeal exhibited by the Jerusalem municipality in collecting taxes from Jews, states editorially.

In the game of politics it is perhaps permissible to rush through measures of particular concern on the eve of the loss of power to legislate or administer further. The dying municipality of Jerusalem proposes evidently to exploit to the maximum the few days left of its lustreless career. It has shown unusual zeal in the collection of the house tax from ratepayers who have been coolly informed that the tax has been increased to correspond to the Urban Property assessment, which, determined anew only last year, bore particularly harsh on Jewish property owners.

Previously permitted to pay this tax in quarterly instalments, householders are now told that only half-yearly payments can be accepted. This excessive zeal to increase the financial resources of the Council, of which the chief burden is naturally borne by Jewish ratepayers is, to say the least, suspicious. The responsibility for the administration of the city is about to pass into new hands, more fully representative of all inhabitants, and a responsible Council might have left the uncollected taxation to be dealt with by the people who will have to disburse it.