League of Nations and Passfield White Paper: I Personally Would Prefer Consideration at May Session

I personally regard it as desirable that the League of Nations Council should be able to take up the consideration of the White Paper on Palestine at its next session in May, instead of delaying it until the September session, the agenda for which is already heavily loaded and the date too far removed, M. Marinkovitch, the Jugo-Slavian Foreign Minister, who is for the first time acting as Rapporteur on Mandates to the League of Nations Council session opening on Monday, in succession to M. Procope, the Foreign Minister of Finland, said in an interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency representative here to-day.

In this event, M. Marinkovitch went on, there would have to be an extraordinary session of the Permanent Mandates Commission before the Commission’s usual date of meeting in June. I have not yet arrived at a definite decision on this matter, however, M. Marinkovitch added, explaining that he would start the final editing of his report on Mandates for submission to the Council at the beginning of next week, and would only then know whether to recommend the convocation of an extraordinary session of the Mandates Commission.

I believe that the difficulties facing the Zionist movement are only temporary and of an accidental nature, M. Marinkovitch continued, speaking of the question generally in connection with the White Paper. I have confidence, he said, that Britain will not depart from the policy enunciated in the Balfour Declaration. The Jews may count on the sympathies of the States Members of the League of Nations, as well as on the public opinion of the British people. The Zionist work will be continued. It is of general interest to the entire world, and to the benefit of Palestine itself.

Asked what he thought of the possibility of a Jewish-Arab understanding, M. Marinkovitch replied that he did not know enough of the local conditions in Palestine. I do not, however, think that it is impossible, he added, if the Arabs will be reasonable and will realise that the Jewish homeland signifies at the same time the homeland of civilisation.

I have long been an adherent of Zionism, M. Marinkevitch said. I consider that the Zionist movement is engaged in pursuing a great and lofty aim. It is a difficult task to transform into an agricultural people a population which has been schooled by historic vicissitudes to be a splendid urban element. It is work which deserves the utmost sympathy and support. Even those people who do not themselves entirely believe in the complete success of Zionism should nevertheless help to promote the work and encourage those who do believe in it and are working for it, and give recognition to the enthusiasm, the self-sacrifice and the stubbornness of the Jewish pioneers.

My enquiries at the League’s Secretariat, M. Marinkovitch concluded, have elicited that the British Government has so far not yet sent in the report of the Wailing Wall Commission, which the Commission handed it a few weeks ago, nor has it supplied any information to the League on the question, so this matter will also not come up during the present session of the Council.

Mr. Arthur Henderson is presiding at the League’s Council session which opens on Monday. He has already left London on his way to Geneva.