The belief that the Colonial Office has changed its attitude on the arming of the Jews in Palestine was expressed today by the Daily Herald columnist Hannen Swaffer.
Discussing the Near East war situation, Swaffer declared that the plea of the Palestine Jewish community for arms “not only to defend Palestine for themselves and the British but to save their own skins” was logical in view of the possibility that the exiled ex-Mufti of Jerusalem was stirring up trouble in Palestine leading to “wholesale massacre.”
“The Colonial Office,” Swaffer said, “now favors arming of the Jews, who hitherto were only allowed to volunteer in the proportion of one Jew for every Arab.”
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