Sit,—May a Jerusalem journalist on a visit to this country
make one observation regarding Mr. Nevill Barbour's article in the last issue of The Spectator.
Dealing with the Middle East Mr. Barbour alleges that Jews have not chown "willingness to co-operate with the Arab world" although "in the minds of such men as Sir Mark Sykes and Col. Lawrence the con- sIderation which the Arabs were to receive in return for the establishment of a Jewish gational Home in Palestine was assistance on the part of world Jewry in support of Arab aspirations in general."
Just two instances: In 1922 a general Arab conference held in Cairo, under the leadership of the late Dr. Shahabander, negotiated with repre- sentative Jews a fair agreement. The text of the proposed agreement was t;:ken by Dr. Ch. Weitzmann, President of the Jewish Agency, to Sir Austin Chamberlain, then Foreign Secretary. The latter advised to drop the neaotiations, since Dr. Shahabander was anti-French and the
French Government might have viewed such a step as an unfriendly act. Some time later Emir Abdullah of Trans-Jordan visited London and had conversations with representatives of the Zionist Organisation. An agreement was discussed. The Zionist Organisation took the matter to the Colonial Office, only to be told that it is undesirable since it might annoy Ibn Saud.
Are we then to be penalised by Britain now for havinc loyally followed
British advice in the past?—Yours sincerely, M. MEDZ1NI. zo Bloomsbury Square, W.C. 1.
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