A well-informed correspondent at Jerusalem tells us that the native
Moslems and Christians do not credit the soothing explana- tions given by Sir Herbert Samuel and Mr. Churchill. The natives know what the Zionists mean by " a Jewish National Home," and believe that tho Zionists will have their way. Dr. Eder, the acting chairman of the Zionist Commission, is said to have told the Commission of Inquiry that there could be no equality of partnership between Jews and Arabs, that the Jews alone should be permitted to bear arms, and that the Jews should nominate the High Commissioner or at least have a veto on the nomination of any candidate. Dr. Eder may not have put the case so bluntly as all that; as we have not yet received a copy of the Commission's report we cannot verify the statements attributed to him. But there can be little doubt that the natives of Palestine, rightly or wrongly, believe that the Zionists mean to treat them as Gideon's Hebrews treated the Palestinians of his day. Great Britain intends, of course, to accord equal rights to all races and religions in the mandate territory of Palestine, but it is high time that our good intentions were made manifest to the people concerned.
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