Evening star., 1947-12-22
Jewish Agency Plans
Detailed Government
For New Palestine
By Phillips ToIbot
Foreign Correspondent Of The sior ond
the Chicago Dolly News

the Chicago Dolly News
JERUSALEM, Palestine, Dec. %.
Through the gathering cloud Of
Arab resistance, Jewish planners
here are pressing toward the
achievement next summer of an 18-
century dream-restoration of the
Jewish state in Palestine.
"A miracle Of history" is the way
David Ben Gurion, chairman OF the
Jewish Agency, describes the COM
ing rebirth of Jewish sovereignty
after lapse of about 80 generations.
In their modern semicircular
stone-block headquarters, depart
ment chiefs of the Jewish Agency,
official organization of the Jewish
community in Palestine, are already
functioning as government within
a government. They wait only for
Britain's withdrawal from its man
date. Then they will convert sec
tions into ministries OF the new gov
ernment.
State to be $500 Square Miles.
As result of the United Nations
decision to partition Palestine, the
new Jewish state will cover $500
square miles.
Initially, the state will include
100000 Jewish and 395, 900 Arab
residents. Some 100000 Jews will
remain in the international free zone
of Jerusalem while several thousand
others in about Is Jewish villages
and settlements are expected to find
themselves in the Arab state.
The Jewish state will emerge as
a republic, according to constitution
writers who conceive a western-style |
democracy, probably with many poll
tical parties.
Mosaic Law Debated.
There is still some question, 1t is |
stated, as to whether the constitu-
ton will include large elements of
the Mosaic law, or provide for an
entirely secular state, with all per-
sons free to follow their own con-
science. Labor parties, who are
strongest in the community, favor
the latter.
The government will probably
function under leftist control, several
Jewish leaders have predicted.
But it could never go Com
munist," Gerson Hirsch, spokesman
for the Jewish agency, declares.
Jewish politics are always marked
by large number of parties and
splinter parties. The idea of single
party government would not appeal
to any Jew"
At present there are two Jewish
Communist parties in Palestine.
Until Russia supported partition, one
favored that policy and the other
didn't. Now they both do.
Administrators Needed.
Jews point out that they will not
be starting their administration from
scratch when they take over from
the British.
For 20 years they have been
operating educational medical,
social and scientific services sup
Elementary to those of the Pales-
tine mandatory government. They
also expect to obtain the services
of about 200 senior Jewish officials
in the present government. Even so,
they will be short of administrators
at first, many believe.
A major question will be the status
of Arabs in the Jewish state. jew
ish leaders say that the Arabs will
be able to vote, have considerable
local autonomy in their villages and
hold office in the government if they
will cooperate.
So far, however, the Jews have
seen no signs of Arab cooperation
in such necessarily joint endeavors
as railroads, posts, telegraphs and
telephones which interlace the
frontiers between the expected Jew
ish and Arab states.
Over half the people OF the
United States own some kind OF
life insurance.