Says Failure of Zionism is Neither Inevitable or Probable

The failure of Zionism does not seem either inevitable or even probable to an impartial observer, writes Victor S. Yarros in an article in the current issue of the New York liberal weekly, "The Nation." Mr. Yarros, who is on the staff of the "Chicago Daily News," recently returned from a visit to Palestine.

Mr. Yarros, who agrees with Dr. Judah L. Magnes that peace in Palestine can only be established by the creation of a bi-national state there, says among other things:

"Palestine cannot mean as much to the Arab as to the Zionist Jew. The Arab has Syria, Iraq, the Nejd, the Hejaz. The Zionist has nothing save Palestine. If he can convert it into a creative source, a constant inspiration, a center of spiritual activity, Asia will be the richer for it and the more significant to the world of today.

"A firm but just position on the part of the British administration, an educational campaign in the press, open and sincere disclaimers of any design to expropriate or dispossess the Arab peasant, strictly and scientifically controlled Jewish immigration, the continued introduction of modern machinery, tools and methods by the Jewish colonists, the extension of all medical and hygienic services to the Arabs, the improvement of living standards and the upward trend in wages—these things cannot fail in time to undermine and dispel groundless Arab prejudices and fear and to effect a rapprochement between the races now poisoned by mutual antipathy. After all, the Arabs and Jews have lived together in amity for many centuries.

"One thing is clear—no nation and no government can ‘give’ Palestine to the Jews. That land is not on the auction block. Those who are there can not be overridden and defied, and whatever is done in the future in line with the Balfour Declaration will ultimately have to be done with the real consent of the majority."