The Zionists' Decision The voting at the Zionist Congress on
Wednesday repre- sents a triumph for the statesmanship of Dr. Weizmann at the end of what has been perhaps the greatest fight of his great career. By 300 to r58, established leaders like Dr. Stephen Wise being among the minority, the Congress decided to enter on negotiations with the British Government " with a view to ascertaining the precise terms of His Majesty's Government for the proposed establishment of a Jewish State." In effect the majority vote represents a declaration against the rejection of partition, though it was insisted by almost every majority speaker that the proposals for partition as they stood were utterly inacceptable. Even now the executive is not empowered to take decisions ; it can only discuss with the British Government and report back to a new Congress. That, perhaps, was as much as could be expected at the present juncture. It is of the first importance for the future of Palestine that the British Government should proceed so far as possible by agreement with both Jews and Arabs, though at present all signs of agreement on the Arab side are lacking. But no one, it is becoming necessary to point out, can compel this country to administer a mandate against its will or on terms which it believes impracticable. That seems hardly to have been fully recognised at Geneva.
