Arab, Jewish Americans Negotiate on Palestine

NEGOTIATIONS ARE UNDER WAY BETWEEN AMERICANS OF JEWISH AND OF ARAB ORIGIN IN AN ATTEMPT TO WORK OUT A PEACEFUL SOLUTION OF ARAB-JEWISH DIFFERENCES IN PALESTINE, THE NEW YORK TIMES REPORTED FROM GENEVA TODAY.

THE BASIS OF THE DISCUSSIONS IS A PROPOSAL TO APPLY TO PALESTINE THE FEDERAL PRINCIPLE FOUND IN THE UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT, ACCORDING TO THE TIMES REPORT. DISCLOSURE OF THE TALKS WAS MADE, ACCORDING TO THE TIMES, BY ADIL ARSLAN, ONE OF THE ARAB SUPREME COMMITTEE’S DELEGATES IN GENEVA, WHO VISITED THE UNITED STATES SEVERAL YEARS AGO.

MR. ARSLAN SAID HE COULD GIVE NO FURTHER DETAILS REGARDING THE DISCUSSION, ACCORDING TO THE TIMES, BUT HE DID MAKE CLEAR WHAT THE ARAB COMMITTEE UNDERSTOOD WAS MEANT BY THE AMERICAN FEDERAL PRINCIPLE AND HOW FAR THE COMMITTEE WOULD GO IN APPLYING IT IN NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN JEWS AND ARABS JEWS STATE.

MR. ARSLAN WAS REPORTED AS SAYING THAT THE ARABS WERE WILLING TO ASSURE THE JEWS OF REPRESENTATION IN THE JOINT GOVERNMENT IN PROPORTION TO THEIR PERCENTAGE OF THE PALESTINE POPULATION. HE PUT THIS AT 30 PER CENT, WHICH THE TIMES “A LOW FIGURE INTENDED, PERHAPS, AS A BASIS FOR BARGAINING.”

MR. ARSLAN SAID THE ARAS WOULD HAVE NO OBJECTION TO GRANTING JEWS FULL RIGHTS TO OCCUPY ANY POLITICAL POSITIONS IN THE PROJECTED STATE, INCLUDING THE HIGHEST, THE TIMES REPORTED, AND HE SAW NO DIFFICULTY IN ASSURING THEM LANGUAGE AND RELIGIOUS GUARANTEES, THOUGH HE APPARENTLY FAVORED COMMON SCHOOLS FOR CHILDREN OF BOTH PEOPLES AT LEAST PART OF THE TIME.

HE SUGGESTED THAT JEWS SHOULD HAVE MUNICIPAL AUTONOMY IN SUCH CITIES AS TEL AVIV, THE TIMES ADDED. HE SEEMED WARMLY IN FAVOR OF NEGOTIATIONS ON THE BASIS SUGGESTED BY VISCOUNT SAMUEL DURING THE PARTITION DEBATE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS AND BY DR. JUDAH L. MAGNES, PRESIDENT OF THE HEBREW UNIVERSITY IN JERUSALEM, THE DISPATCH SAID.

BUT, THE TIMES DECLARED, THE ARAB DELEGATE EMPHASIZED THAT HIS PEOPLE IN PALESTINE COULD NOT AGREE TO GREATER JEWISH IMMIGRATION AND DECLARED HE WAS CONFIDENT THE KINGDOM OF IRAQ COULD ABSORB A LARGE JEWISH IMMIGRATION FROM EUROPE. HE APPEARED QUITE SURE OF THE EMERGENCE OF A BIG ARAB CONFEDERATION, INCLUDING IRAQ, SYRIA, LEBANON, PALESTINE AND EGYPT, THE TIMES SAID.

HE WAS REPORTED AS ASSERTING THAT HIS DELEGATION HAD POWERS TO NEGOTIATE SIMILAR TO THOSE GRANTED TO DR. CHAIM WEIZMANN BY THE WORLD ZIONIST CONGRESS, WITH A SIMILAR REQUIREMENT THAT ANY AGREEMENT MUST BE REFERRED TO ITS PRINCIPALS FOR RATIFICATION. HE WAS QUOTED AS HAVING INSISTED THAT THE ZIONIST DECISION AUTHORIZING PARLEYS ON ESTABLISHMENT OF A JEWISH STATE HAD NOT AFFECTED THE ARABS’ FIRM OPPOSITION TO PARTITION.