Evening star., 1942-06-26
Pre-War Holy Land
Opponents United
Against Axis
One of Big Incentives for
Joining British Actually
Come From Germans
BY ARTHUR KAY,
Foreign Correspondent Of The Star and

North American Newspaper Alliance.
JERUSALEM, Palestine, June IS.
will June and July be the zero
months" in the Near East?
Last year this correspondent saw
the first direct threat from the Ger
mans as they invaded Russia, with
their objective the oil fields of the
Caucasus, Iraq and Iran. Iraq and
Iran were occupied by the British
and Russians, while Syria was in
vaded by the British and Free
French forces in order to remove the
threat from the Nazi Luftwaffe
which had set up bases in that
Vichy-ccntrolled territory.
Only Palestine and TranSiordan
and. to the south. the vast Arabian
peninsula have remained free from
Axis or Axis-controlled forces.
Today the Axis armies in Libya
have forced their way back to the
Egyptian frontier and to the north
lIiF NTIIld dlt pIltt dEdlll ltdIil-
mering at the western approaches
of the Caucasus.
Asked to Join Forces.
What is the reaction of the local
populations to these fresh threats to
their independence?
There is something distinctive
about wartime Jerusalem. Peace
time guides are no longer in evil
dence and street haWkerS have toned
down their rauCuous voices. It hap
pens that the Jewish inhabitants of
Palestine between the ages of II and
45 have been called on enmaSse to
join whichever defense force is ap-
pliCable to them. This call from the
Jewish agency conceded with
statement from the British war Office
that in the future all members of
the armed forces recruited in Pales-
tine will wear a shoulder tab with
the word. Palestine"
This innovation has already proved
q great incentive and. although fall
ing short of the Zionist request for
Jewish army. has been gratefully
accepted as being the next best thing
and today Palestinian soldiers can
be seen proudly wearing their new
insignia.
Not all the soldiers recruited in
Palestine are Jews: about a third
are Arabs. Jews and Arabs do not.
however, serve in the same COM
p2nieS. There are separate COM
panieS for each of the two races
usually commanded by British Off
Ger. with Arab or Jewish officers
serving under him.
Laugh at Nazi Claims.
One of the great incentives in favor
of recruiting for the British Army
actually came from the Germans.
With their customary habit of over
doing it, the Germans in their
broadCaStS to Arabs in Arabic have
described the fearful damage caused
by German or Italian planes in their
attacks on the harbor towns of Haifa
and Jaffa. Haifa has experienced a
number of bombings. but the total
amount Of damage has been negl-
gible and certainly far from what
could be imagined after listening to
the Berlin or Bari 1taly) radios.
Jaffa itself has never been raided,
but few bombs have been dropped
in a neighboring town and. except
for the first occasion. did little dam
age Any mention over the German
radio of the bombing of Jaffa is good
for a laugh from the Arab inhab-
itant5 of the town.
On the other hand, propaganda
broadcasts from radio stations in
Palestine. not only in English. He
brew and Arabic for home Consump-
tion. but also in Greek. Rumanian.
Bulgarian, French, Polish and other
languages. with special emphasis on
the Balkans, have become to many
people in the occupied countries of
Europe a second Bible emanating
from the Holy Land.
Jerusalem is perhaps the most
truly cosmopolitan city in the Near
East outside of Cairo The inhabi-
tants in Jerusalem have great faith
in the holy status of their city
Jerusalem has never experienced an
air raid. Sirens have walled in
practice various times and there
have been some false alarms, but
nothing more serious.
People in Telaviv are fond Of tell
Ing the story of man who con-
tirued to walk nonchalantly along
the road after the sirens had
sounded. He was stopped and
ordered to go to the nearest shelter
in accordance with local bylaws.
Don't be silly. I am immune be-
cause l am from Jerusalem" he
replied.
Shelters Are Provided.
Haifa, Telaviv. Jeffa and other
coastal towns have literally dug
themselves in. There are shelters
for civilians everywhere and first
aid preparations galore Each of
Telaviv's 200 odd buses. for example,
Is convertible into an ambulance.
The seats are detachable and each
bus is equipped with stretchers
strapped to the inside of the roof
I found factories working overtime
turning out war material and manu-
factured goods, while the fields are
producing food and the towns are
contributing manpower. But I also
found tense waiting for the zero
hour"
Palestine by reason of its geo.
graphical position and because the
terminus Of the pipeline running
from the Mosul oil fields is situated
At Haifa. points to the inevitability
of the Levant coast and its hinter-
land playing host to the next great
battles of the war unless the Axis
can be so decisively beaten in
Western Europe that it will not
attempt to waste more men and
material by trying to obtain the oil
of Western Asia.
The great Arabian peninsula. from