Zionist leaders are not prepared to negotiate the partition of Palestine on the basis of the 1937 plan offered by the Peel Commission, because the reasons for such a partition no longer hold good, Prof. L.B. Namier, political adviser of the Jewish Agency, writes in the Manchester Guardian today.
"The existence of a Jewish State, even in a partitioned Palestine, would have enabled the Jews to play a part in the present war as a nation," the article says. "The name and the flag of Hitler’s foremost victims and enemies would have appeared among the United Nations. Now the Jewish-Arab problem is seen in a wider setting. The Arab aims for complete independence, national unity and elimination of European political influence cannot be attained with Palestine included. If at the price of Palestine, the Arabs would obtain complete independence everywhere else plus ample financial compensation, they would strike a favorable bargain."
Prof. Namier points out that a Jewish State in Palestine would welcome the presence of British forces "which are resented elsewhere." He adds that "if a Jewish State is established, Jews will see to it that Christian and Moslem holy places are put under British or international control." He emphasizes that Jews in Palestine will never accept a minority status.
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.
