The Zionist Review, organ of the British Zionist Federation, declares editorially that the Zionists would do all in their power to aid Arab national aspirations if the Arabs would accept fulfillment of Jewish aims in Palestine. “The war and peace aim of the Jews is sufficient room in Palestine to receive Jews in search of a national future and to build up a sound Jewish commonwealth,” the paper said.
Commenting on Foreign Secretary Eden’s speech which promised British support for closer Arab ties, the editorial pointed out this declaration did not specifically mention Palestine, whose fate, the paper said, could not be settled without the approval of those to whom the Balfour Declaration was given.
Referring to the Weizmann-Feisal treaty which followed the last war, the Zionist organ said: “If the Arabs now come to us in the spirit of Feisal, accepting fulfillment of our own national aspirations, we would do all in our power to help them along a parallel path.”
Within the framework of the Middle East and remaining in close connection with the British Empire, the Jews would welcome special arrangements between a Jewish state and its Arab neighbors, provided that these did not infringe on the full sovereignty of the separate units, the editorial asserted.
“Without having fought this war the Arabs expect to draw considerable benefits from it. We do not grudge them these. But they should be asked in turn to show some understanding of the needs of a kindred nation and of all nations concerned with the Jewish problem.”
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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.
