Evening star., 1937-08-29

LdSlly, llle Jews Will Oe11dHu 1ull
sovereignty in the little territory left
to them. That is to say they want the
right to bring in as many immigrants
as the country will accommodate and
to govern in their own way. I proph-
esy that some Of these demands will be
and, indeed, must be-met.
Arab Extremists Implacable.
What Of the Arabs?
The extremists are implacable They
refuse to give up an acre OF what they
regard as Arab soil, forgetting the
Turks were the sovereign rulers until
the British elected them after hard
fighting. But important elements
among the Arabs are sick and tired
of strife and disorder, and will be pre-
pared To accept compromise. 1t will
be made easier for them by free loan
Of slo,oO0.ooO, part Of the proposed
arrangement.
The Emir Of Transjordan, a mem
ber of the Sheriffian family, is sug-
gested rs King of combined state
including both Trans jordan and Arab
Palestine. The capital will proba bly,
be the Arab city of Nablus. There
will be plenty Of strife before the mat
ter is settled. 1t is significant that
one of the most powerful men in the
Arab countries, the Prime Minister Of
Iraq. has come out in open hostility to
the proposed partition.
The Jewish state will be declared a
republic. Dr. Chain Weizmann, for 50
many years Zionist president is men,
toned as its first ruler. In effect,
however, the Jewish state will be and
must be in the closest relationship with
the British Empire. and that is the
tragedy of the situation. This little
Jewish enclave in vast area OF Mos
lem nationalism will not be able to
stand by itself for two or three gener-
ations to come. Short of giving up
the struggle and abandoning their CEN
turies-old ideal, the Zionists must ac-
cept what they can get and kiss the
rod that chastises them.
Reckon to Hold Haifa.
The wise men in Whitehall reckon
by this means to hold Haifa. This is a
fine port. by far the best harbor in the
Levant: and, as already stated. is the
seaward end Of the oil pipe line 1t
is also destined to be the terminus Of
railway line which will one day be
built across the desert. following the
pipeline route, to Bagdad. eventually
to be linked up by way of the Persian
railway system to India
So long as Palestine was held under
mandate. Haifa could not be fortified
or prepared as naval base But as
the main port OF the new Jewish re-
public, it can be prepared for defense
In event of the expected trouble with
Italy-especially II Spain falls under
Fascist domination-theB British might
temporarily have to abandon the
Western Mediterranean Sea route by
way Of the Straits of Gibraltar. But
they would remain strong, they hope
in the Eastern Mediterranean and
could communicate with Haifa from
the Indian Sea through the Sue2
Canal they also could keep open q
longer line OF communication from
England via the Cape Of Good Hope.
The strategy of such Mediterranean
war would be to build up q threat
in the Levant Of attacking the Italians
in the rear as soon as the British were
strong enough. possibly with French
help, to force their way into the West
ern Mediterranean
But all these strategic advantages
could, in effect, have been obtained
under the mandate The Emir of
Transjordan has no doubt given secret
pledges OF his friendliness to British
imperialism. But he will not be able
to answer for his ministers, and he
will not live forever. The one thing
certain Is that today there is An Arab
nationalist movement which Is felt
throughout all the countries of the
Middle East. The partition Of Pales-
tine will not placate it. and the aban-
donment of the mandate. except for
the small enclave around Jerusalem,
only weakens the British position
eventually.
Not End Of Blunders.
II this were the end of a series Of
blunders and periods of weak gov
eminent. there might be something
to be said for this new policy, but
1t will not be the end The official
apology is that it was hoped that the
Jews and Arabs would settle down to-
gether and between them build up a
prosperous Palestinian state; that
these hopes have been futile. and that
the hostility between the warning ele-
ments has increased, and that, there
fore, the attempt must be abandoned
But what has happened is that the
nationalistic movement among the
Palestinian Arabs has been tolerated
and allowed to grow. 1t has been
stimulated from outside and led from
inside by subsidized agitators. The
rank and fire of the Arab workmen,
the ordinary Arab peasants, are not
hostile to the Jews.
If the whole spirit Of the admins
tration had been different. from the
beginning, the creation of this Pales-
Tine state, through the efforts OF the
two races working side by side, would
have succeeded
There was bound to be friction when
Europeanized Jews with modern meth
ods Of agriculture and industry and
modern ways Of life began to revolu-
tionize the economic life OF q state
which for centuries had suffered under
Turkish misrule, but these changes
the transition from the camel civiliza-
ton to the motor car civilization-are
going on all over the East.
repeat, that the troubles In Pales-
tine have been largely the result Of 4
deliberate stirring up. The Palestine
nandats itself u . victim Of anti.
oeEnttiam.