The British Government have, of course, assured the people of
Palestine that they had nothing to fear, and things were begin- ning to settle down. Suddenly, however, the Moslem and Christian population see named as administrator and autocrat of Palestine not only a Jew but actually a Zionist. Can we wonder that the appointment has been received with conster- nation by all who know the Middle East, and with something like fury by the majority of the inhabitants of the new State ? We do not suppose for a moment that Sir Herbert Samuel is going to hew Ammon hip and thigh, or that he will smite the Christian with the edge of the sword and once more leave only the repre- sentatives of one Profession alive in Jericho. There is no one who would want to do so loss, we are sure. Again, he is not going to set up lodges of the Illuminati in the Church of the Holy Sepul- chre, or to evict the Moslems from the Dome of the Rook. But these good intentions and the soft things of his excellently worded message will have no avail among an Eastern population. They deal with symbolic acts much more than with mere phrases. They judge others by themselves. It is useless to talk to them about British good intentions when they see a Jew and a Zionist made to be lord and king over them. Hope of getting them to believe that a Zionist can and will be strictly impartial is beyond the realm of possibility.
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