United Front of Arabs Cracking As Delegation Prepares to Go to London

With the Arab delegation to London preparing to leave March 20 the Arab Executive here is straining every effort to conceal the disintegration of the Arab united front which is thought to be essential for the success of the mission which the delegation is undertaking, supposedly on behalf of all the Arabs.

That the united front is not as united as the Executive would make it out to be is indicated from its own weekly bulletin in which it chides the Arab sheiks who participated in an economic conference with Jews at Ben Yamina and entreats patriots to retain their land and not to sell it to “foreigners.”

The Executive appeals, too, to all leaders to refrain from organizing new parties and groups of which there are already seventeen. It has advised the people not to celebrate noisily the delegation’s departure but to restrain their joy until the triumphant return. Nevertheless a number of official farewell receptions have been planned.

The moderation of the Executive, however, is not extended to fairness, for Mayor Nashashibi of Jerusalem, a member of the dedegation, has appointed Jacub Faraj, a Christian vice-mayor to be acting mayor. It had been expected that owing to the numerical supremacy of the Jews in Jerusalem, Chaim Solomon, senior vice-mayor, would be named acting mayor. Haj Said Elshaw, a wealthy Arab notable from Gaza, and a member of the Moslem Supreme Council, will serve in the Mufti’s place.

The delegation of six is composed of Mouzza Kazim Pasha, president of the Arab Executive, the Grand Mufti, Mayor Nashashibi, Jamal Husseini, secretary of the Executive, Alfred Roch, a Christian, and Auni Abdul Hadi, one of the Arab counsel at the Inquiry Commission hearings.