THE ARAB CLAIMS
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR]
Sta,—Professor G. R. Driver, in his review of Mr. Jeffries's book, Palestine: the Reality, writes that the policy of the British Government concerning Palestine was " to gratify the Jews and ignore the Arabs " because " the Arabs were distant and to a large extent incapable of making themselves heard." He appears to have overlooked the fact that two official Arab delegations were heard by the Council of the Peace Conference—the first headed by the late King Feisal and the second by M. Chekri Ganem. Neither of these delegations demanded independence for the Arabs of Palestine. Feisal asked for independence for various Arab territories with the exception of Palestine, which " for its universal character he left on one side for the mutual con- sideration of all parties interested." M. Chekri Ganem, head of the Syrian Arabs, welcomed the settlement of Jews in " an autonomous Palestine," and said : " If they form the majority there, they will be the rulers." So far were the Arabs from being ignored that they were allowed to form independent States in the Hedjaz and Iraq, Syria was promised independence after a period of mandated adminis- tration, and Transjordan was detached from Palestine and placed under the rule of Feisal's brother, Emir Abdullah.
Professor Driver refers to " the suspicious obscurity in which the damning French Report has been shrouded." The Reports by Mr. Lewis French were never shrouded in any obscurity: they have always been obtainable from the Crown Agents for the Colonies (probably also from H.M. Stationery Office) for two shillings. Since the Supplementary Report was published on April 2oth, 1932, it is impossible to under- stand how it could have shown, according to Professor Driver, that " by 1935 Zionists had produced I t,000 landless Arabs and 5,000 unemployed Jews." A careful examination of the Reports fails to reveal any such figures. Mr. French wrote (p. 6o) that it was " impossible to forecast what numbers will eventually have to be provided for out of the 3,700 claims preferred," and that he was not prepared " to attempt at present any more precise conjecture than one which puts the figures between r,000 and 2,000." In point of fact, the total number of claims of displaced Arabs admitted by the Govern- ment was only 664 (Report on the Administration of Palestine, 1935, pp. 62 ff.), and although the Government set aside a sum of L250,000 (out of the large surplus to which the Jews had contributed out of all proportion to their numbers) for the settlement of these Arabs upon fresh hold- ings, not more than £85,796 was needed for the purpose up to March, 1938 (Report on Palestine, 1938, P. 204). Professor Driver further observes : " We paid for Jewish money by giving the Jews the country of our Arab Allies." He is utterly mistaken if he imagines that there was any sort of financial transaction or even an offer of financial assistance on the part of the Jews in connexion with the issue of the Balfour Declaration. On this point he cannot do better than refer to the Report of the Royal Commission (pp. 22-24). In any case, what does he mean by the ex- pression: " giving the Jews the country of our Arab Allies "? The British Government paid £4,000,000 for the military assistance of the Arabs outside Palestine, and that country was delivered, after 9oo years under a succession of foreign rulers, by British troops, including Jewish battalions. As for " giving the Jews the country," has Professor Driver never heard of the White Papers of 1922, of 1929, and of May r7th,
Childs Hill, N.W. 2.
Previous page
