Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-08-26
The Crisis in Palestine.

The Wailing Wall In Jerusalem,
palisade of mourning Jewry through the
centuries, will have new meaning for
that ancient race today, when the world
reads of the Arab-Jewish riots in the
Holy City. Jewish blood along with
that of Arabs has been spilled in fanat-
ical attacks on Jewish residents both
in Jerusalem and other Palestinian
communities. Early reports mention the
killing Of a dozen or more American
citizens. The United States consulate
informs the State Department that
situation of the most serious gravity
prevailed during the week end, though
the prompt arrival Of British troops and
warships has resulted in a temporary
restoration Of order, with corresponding
safety both for residents and foreigners.
The word temporary" Is used ad-
vsedly because the unique political con-
dition which modern Palestine pre-
sents here Is an Arab land, inundated
to the British for administrative pur-
poses and allocated to the Jews as
national home" 1t requires little
stretch of the imagination to coniure
up a vision of eternal strife, given
such a set of conditions. Therefore,
while tranquility. following last weeks
sanouinary events in Jerusalem, Hebron,
Tel-Aviv and other certers, may have
been re-established, there will remain
a set of fundamental factors capable
of converting it, on seconds notice,
into that calm which sometimes pre-
cedes a devastating storm. Political
complications, which are saturated with
religious rancor, like the unending Bit
terness between the Arabs and the Jews
in Palestine, are the stuff Of which
not only recurring crises. but wars
themselves, are made.
British emotions in the midst Of riot
ouelling at Jerusalem must be heavily
tinctured with anxiety. The British
Empire is the world-leading Moslem
power. Mystic India's countless millions
! make her such. Mesopotamia, man
dated to the British by the League
Of Nations, along with the Turks other
former domain, the Holy Land, brings
other millions of Mohammedans under
the Union Jack. Then there is Egypt.
from which Britain is even now by
treaty preparing to relax her grip
Egypt, with an 1slamic population Allied
to the brim with anti-British sentiment.
John Bull has need to watch his step
at an hour when British soldiers, sailors.
marines and aviators are suppressing
Arabs into q sullen submission. Lon
don dispatches already register the
fears of the Macdonald government
that events in Palestine may be the
spark to set alight a Moslem conf1agra-
ton sweeping through Mesopotania to
India like a prairie fire, along the
"all-red route" from Palestine to
Singapore. The British survived the
peril Of Mohammedan revolution during
the World War, when the "infidel" was
fighting the Turks. But the Turks were
themselves allied with an "inf1del"
power, and the inflammable element
of religious conflict was not an issue
as it is an issue in Jerusalem now.
Lord Reading, former vtceroy OF India,
is In conference with the British cab
met. There Is unmistakable significance
In that bit of news.
The people Of the United States, espe-
cially wide sections Of its large and
influential Jewish community, have ex-
hibited genuine sympathy with the ef-
fort to set up a Jewish national home
in Palestine. Only this Summer. at
conference in Europe, American
Zionists and so-called anti-Zionists
buried the Ratchet and agreed to work
together for the common cause. 1t is
sincerely to be hoped that current
events in Palestine are not designed
to cripple the Zionist movement. But
It seems unfortunately clear that ways
and means have yet to be found for
reconciling the perilous differences
which keep Arab and Jew at daggers
drawn