The times-news. [volume] (Hendersonville, N.C.) 1927-current, 1938-05-27
new ATTEMPT
IN HOLY Land
DIVISION MADE
Latest Commission Finds
Arabs Are Hostile And
Jews Fearful :
BY JOHN SIMON
Halted Pre.srStaff Correspondeht

BY JOHN SIMON
United re.s7Staff corresponden'
JERUSALEM, May q: CGp}-
ARRIVAL here OF. the British Pales-
tine commission finds the ATaDs
yociferously opposed to the hri'
fish partition plan, official Jew
;sh bodies reluctantly acquiescent'
and a tense under-current OF jew
ish opposition. ~ ~,
Informed opinion believes that
the Anglo-Italian pact has Deen
the cause OF Britain's detay over
partition, despite the efforts on
Zionist leaders TO hurry tue
scheme through.
According to inner Zionist. CIR
cles, the. Jewish state envisaged by
the British Colonial OFFICE Is TOO
small to defend itself and would
be sdependent on Britain for de-
tense. This would mean that the
British would have to reimburse
by control of customs
and finance, departments.
Even strang, supporters OF the
partition plan are opposed TO tne
creation of q Jewish state when
would not be strong enough To
it's own sovereignty.
CAN OFFER NO
Al, TERNAfiVE :
AS leaders of the Jewish Agency
were prepared to give up the
mandate to gain even a
small, state, they are now IN a
difficult position. in relation TO
the British and the Jews, because
while claiming that the Palestine
mandate was dead letter, they
have not been. able to negotiate
any acceptable alternative. =.
Arabic leaflets have been dis-
tributed calling on the Arabs to
boycott. the commission.
Since the publication of Coloni-
al Secretary Ormsby Gore letter
the. partition commls,,
sion. SO Arabs have been killed
and more than 100 wounded, ~
Jews killed and SO wounded. and
8 British police and troopers Kill
ed and. Is wounded. {, ~, 80
1t is expected that the. commits,
sion will Stay in Palestine ABOUT
four months collecting evidence,
and, Jewish organlza-
tons: are hastily preparing mate
rial TO submit to. the commission,
which already is being described
as the repeal eomalssioR-a
pun on the royal commission OF
/ $50 which was named the Peel
after its chairman, the
late Lord. Peel. s.
It will be- recalled that when
this, commission presided over by
ord Peel investigated the causes
Of the 1896 disturbance, 1t con-
GUIDED that the difficulties in the
way of rapproachment between
Jew and Arab we're inSuperable
md proposed the dividing OF
Palestine into three parts.
BRITISH CORRIDOR
PROPOSED
The commission proposed that
the Hely places, Haifa naval base
and a section of southern Pales-
tine should be- under British man.
date, the mountainous area of
Judea and Samaria should form
the Arab state and the Jewish
state should include Galilee, JeZ-
reel Valley, and the coastal PLAN
from Haifa to south of jaffa, d.
vided by; a corridor from Jaffa to
Jerusalem, which would be under
British mandate.
This proposal provoked a ire
mendous uprOar. Protests were
made by all sides, including the
British Parliament. At first the
Near East Arabs opposed the
scheme. The Zionist leaders, who
at first were loud in their pro-
tests against the plan, veered
around. The Zionist Congress in
1897 decided that while opposing
the Peel commissions partition
scheme, it would empower lead
ers to negotiate with the British
for better terms.
At the same time the Zionist
opposition leader, Meyer Gross
man, published a confidential re-
nnrt of a conversation held in
July 1887, between the British
colonial secretary and. the presi-
dent of the Zionist organization,
DR.. Chain Weizmann, in which it
was declared that Dr.; Weizmann
said if the. territory of the pro-
posed Jewish state were increased
by 900 square miles, the Zionists
would agree to the partition plan
and request the League of Ma
lions to withdraw the mandate I'M
der which Palestine is governor.
Grossman later was suspended
from official Zionist bodies on the
grounds of breach of discipline.
JEWISH FEARS, AROUSED
Arab and Jewish opposition to
the schemes prevented its rapid i'm
plementation, The technical COM
mission proposed by the royal
commission and how officially
called the partition commission,
was appointed in the spring of
1898 with very vague; term sof
reference, Which led zionists to
believe that q considerable. dimi-
mutton, instead of increase, Of
area for the proposed Jewish state
was intended. They also feared
that Galilee was to be excluded
from the Jewish. state, without
Compensation
The Jewish Agency represent
= s.xs, AL