Anti-zionist Meeting Fails to Win Parliament Support As Members Stay Away

An elaborately prepared anti-Zionist meeting organized by the pro-Arab group, turned out to be a complete fiasco when it took place tonight in a private room in the House of Commons. The organizers had expected numerous parliamentarians and members of the House of Lords to attend. However, only three members of the House appeared, whereupon Lord Winterton, Conservative leader, who was to have seconded a resolution demanding justice for the Arabs of Palestine, withdrew his support and left the room. Nevertheless, the resolution was voted upon and adopted.

The audience consisted of a small group of known anti-Semites. Lord Lamington, who presided, read letters supporting the resolution, from the Palestine Arab Executive and from Shaukat Ali, Mohammedan leader of India. Lord Lamington explained that he was not an anti-Semite and deeply deplored the persecution of the Jews in Germany, but he declared he considered it wrong to help the Jews at the expense of the Arabs.

Miss Farquarson, organizer of the British League responsible for tonight’s meeting, claimed that Palestine was in reality the wealthiest country in the world, but that the

Jews were concealing its wealth until they had established a Jewish kingdom. She asserted that the Dead Sea contains gold worth five billion pounds.

An Assyrian from Iraq attacked the purpose of the meeting and Eleanor Rathbone, Laborite member of Parliament, called attention to the illegal immigration of Transjordan Arabs into Palestine. Peter Macdonald, Conservative member of the House, expressed doubt as to whether the meeting was serving a useful purpose.

Edward Doran, former Conservative member of the House, who was repudiated by his constituency after his defense of Hitlerism, added to the confusion and disorderliness of the meeting when, after the vote on the resolution, he suddenly offered a second resolution, which Lord Winterton had previously withdrawn.