Further complications in the municipal council arose today when it became known that Daniel Auster, the Jewish vice-mayor, may not automatically replace Mayor Khalidi during his absence. At the same time Arab leaders submitted a demand that a third Christian Arab be nominated as additional vice-mayor in order to create a non-Jewish majority.
The demand for a third vice-mayor was submitted to District Commissioner of Jerusalem Campbell today, despite the fact that the Palestine government has officially promised that there would be two vice-mayors, one a Jew and one an Arab. It is predicted here that the government will reject the Arab demand.
A tacit agreement between the Jews and the Arabs that Auster was automatically to replace Mayor Khalidi during his absence has been ignored in the new by-laws referring to the mayoralty. These by-laws reserve to the High Commissioner the right to nominate a deputy during the absence of the Mayor.
The question as to whether Auster should occupy a special office in the municipal building has also not been settled and has created serious dissatisfaction among the Jews, in view of the fact that the vice-mayor’s status has not yet been completely clarified.
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.
