§ LORD LAMINGTONMy Lords, I have now to ask His Majesty's Government whether they can make a statement as to the present situation of affairs in Palestine, with especial reference to immigration and to appointments in the Administration. About a week ago the noble Lord, Lord Sydenham, asked a variety of Questions upon this and other points, and at that time he received no reply at all upon several of them. With regard to the question of immigration we now know that a change of policy has recently taken place in Palestine.
Yesterday, the Secretary of State for the Colonies said that up to the present about 7,000 immigrants had entered Palestine. I myself thought the number was much larger than that, but allowance has been 564 made for a number who entered and, apparently extremely disappointed with what they found, quickly went back to the United States. These persons numbered about 3,000. They did not find the land flowing with milk and honey, and considered themselves far better off in the new world than in their old home. Mr. Churchill went on to say that on no account were His Majesty's Government or the Government in Palestine going to stop this Jewish immigration. I understand that the Arabs and others do not in any way protest against immigration which comes about by natural means, but they do object to the influx of a large alien population who, they fear, will in time swamp the resident population. Undoubtedly that would eventually be so.
Mr. Churchill dwelt very largely upon the wonderful results produced by the Jewish colonies which were already established in Palestine, and said on no account would they be allowed to be wrecked. That seemed to me to be a gratuitous insult to the Arabs, for these Jewish colonies have existed there for thirty or forty years under Mahomedan rule, and so far as I know there has never been any attempt to wreck or destroy them. It is only the large claims made by Zionism that have inflamed and alarmed the Arab population regarding what might occur in the future. For instance, last year there were very fair crops, and yet the Arab population, who had for the most part produced those crops, were not allowed to export them, presumably for the reason that it was necessary, in the opinion of the Government, to retain the crops in the country for the sustenance of the large influx of Jews. That is an illustration of how the questions of immigration and administration hang together.
One other point mentioned by Lord Sydenham was that prohibition has been imposed on the sale of land to any persons but those who are Palestinians. This is preventing the Arab population from dealing with their land as they would naturally deal with it. All these instances of fresh legislation interfering with the customs of the Arabs tend to create in the Arabs a great mistrust of the new Administration. As to the personnel of the Administration, I am told on good authority that two-thirds of the posts in the Department of the High Commissioner are held by Jews. The heads of the Judicial Depart- 565 meat and of the Department of Industry and Commerce are Jews. In the Administration of the Government of Jerusalem in 1919 there were two Jew clerks. There are now nine. In the Public Works Department all the clerks are Jews, except one, who is a. Christian. In the Accounts Department an ex-member of the Zionist Commission has been appointed to a high post over the heads of the regular staff. In the Treasury there are six new clerks, all Jews. Out of 2,400 Government officials one-sixth are British, of whom many are Jews. One would naturally think that the Government of a Mandated country would, so far as possible, be run by the people of that country. A comparison has been made with Syria. In Syria, under the French, there is one judicial officer as compared to sixteen British in Palestine. Palestine, of course, is more a country than is Syria.
As regards the non-civil administration, it is proposed to raise two battalions in Palestine, one composed of Jews and the other of Christians and Moslems. That is an unfair proposal when it is remembered the Jews are only about 9 per cent. of the total population. In such circumstances, to give them half of the defence power of the country is held by the Arabs to be grossly unfair. Then there is a matter of railway administration. The stationmasters are generally Moslems, but in every case a linesman has been appointed. I do not know what his duties are, but he is invariably a Jew, and. has equal pay with the stationmaster, and a right of direct communication with headquarters.
I should like to call the attention of the noble Duke to a statement in the Morning Post of June 10. I do not expect him to give me an answer upon it to-day. The statement is to the effect that from a village in Bethlehem 7,000 out of an Arab population of 14,000 have emigrated. I confess that that seems almost an exaggeration, but perhaps the noble Duke will inquire as to its correctness.
In these observations I am not making any criticism of the High Commissioner, Sir Herbert Samuel. I do not think that I have heard anyone, Moslem or Christian, who has questioned his absolute integrity of conduct throughout; in fact, I have a copy of a letter sent to me which speaks of the Arab belief in his fairness, consideration and conciliatory views towards those entrusted to his care. Of course, he is put 566 in a very difficult situation. He has a strong Zionist faction to contend against; he himself is a Jew, and, I think, a strong Zionist; and to hold the balance equally between all parties lie should ix impartial to all. Still, he has done his duty extraordinarily well, and I have not heard any criticisms directed against him personally.
There is one incident relating to the question of administration to which I must refer. There was a notable occurrence at Haifa. It was referred to by the noble Lord. We have not heard whether the facts have been correctly stated. It concerns a deputation from the Arabs which wished to wait upon Mr. Churchill, but were refused an interview. A demonstration was held in Haifa afterwards, and, some incidents occurring, the police fired upon the demonstrators. Two or three people were killed. The result was that feelings were inflamed. A further procession was held by Christians and Moslems, a joint procession, a thing which has never occurred in the East before, and the Christian bishop preached in the mosque and the Mahomedan priest preached in the cathedral. That is a remarkable happening which shows the intense feeling which has developed in Palestine.
No doubt, it is due somewhat to the extreme vagueness of the words "a national home for the Jews." They are very elastic; they may mean so much, or they may mean so little. A short time ago Sir Herbert Samuel made a speech in which he used these words—
The words of the Balfour Declaration, the real sense of which has perhaps not been conveyed by the translation of the English words into Arabic, mean that the Jews, a people who are scattered throughout the world but whose hearts are always turned to Palestine, should be enabled to found there their home, and that some among them, within the limits that are fixed by the numbers and interests of the present population, should come to Palestine, in order to help by their resources and efforts to develop the country to the advantage of all the inhabitants.His words are of a conciliatory character, and as the writer of the letter, a gentleman of high character and wide knowledge of the leaders of religious thought in the East, says—If these words had been said three years ago they would have sated an infinity of heart-burning and bitterness., and that disastrous loss of British prestige which is the most serious handicap in the carrying out of the Mandate.The most serious result is that we have lost caste in the East; and this fact is 567 emphasised by Mrs. Forbes. It has been the uncertainty as to what we were going to do in Palestine that has raised the hopes of the Zionists, and, on the other hand, has created great fear and alarm on the part of the Arabs. In Mr. Churchill's remarkable speech yesterday in another place —I agree with much that he said with regard to Mesopotamia —he admitted the extraordinary difficulty of the Government in Palestine and glided gently over the bad feeling which has been engendered in that country. I believe that if there had been a more outspoken declaration, a more exact definition as to what we were going to do in Palestine, things would have been more hopeful than they are now.I am accused in the Jewish Press of being anti-Semitic. Not in the least. When Mr. Balfour's Declaration was first made, I attended the demonstration in the Opera House and spoke in approval at an overflow meeting. At that time I had not realised the tremendous pledges we had given to the Arabs, nor the intensity of their feeling with regard to the Declaration. It is quite untrue to say that I am actuated by any hostility to the Jews. I am actuated by a wish to make good our pledges to the Arabs who have been our faithful allies. I do not wish to see us committed to a situation which will be fraught with great difficulty in the future and out of which we are not going to get the slightest advantage or credit. It would have been much better if we had set up an Arab Administration, given ample guarantees for a national home for the Jews and security for all other religious communities. I hope the noble Duke will be able to make a statement as to the exact position of the immigration law, which I understand has been curtailed or changed in order to meet Arab feeling, and some information as to the staffing of administrative posts by Jews.
THE DUKE OF SUTHERLANDMy Lords, we have listened with interest to the speech of the noble Lord, who has displayed great knowledge of an intricate and difficult subject, The Secretary of State for the Colonies yesterday made a full statement on the subject of Palestine in another place. In these circumstances I may perhaps be permitted to confine myself to the two specific points mentioned by the noble Lord. Your Lordships are no doubt aware that in consequence of the most unfortunate disturbances at 568 Jaffa at the beginning of last month the High Commissioner of Palestine temporarily prohibited the entry of all immigrants, whether Jewish or not. into Palestine. This step was approved by His Majesty's Government as a purely temporary measure pending a reconsideration of the whole situation. There is no doubt that, largely owing to a misunderstanding as to the scale on which the entry of immigrants into Palestine was to be permitted, the feeling of the non-Jewish inhabitants of Palestine was strongly opposed to this policy and deeply apprehensive of its possible results.
Furthermore, owing to the delay in the granting of the Mandate, it has so far been impossible for the Palestine Government to raise the necessary funds for capital expenditure on the very necessary public works which it has in contemplation. It has also been impossible for private firms and persons to make a start on various large development schemes which are in contemplation. A solution of the latter difficulty has now, it is hoped, been found, but the net result of these difficulties has been that the large fields for employment which it had been hoped to open up to prospective immigrants into Palestine have not yet come into existence. In view of these circumstances your Lordships will, I am sure, agree that His Majesty's Government had no alternative but to approve the temporary suspension of immigration, which was advised by the High Commissioner, Sir Herbert Samuel, himself an ardent Zionist.
One result of this sudden suspension has, of course, been to cause grave hardships to those intending immigrants who had actually left their homes en route for Palestine, and were either on the high seas or at the port of embarkation when immigration was suspended. Two officers of the Palestine Department of Immigration have now gone to Constantinople and Trieste, the two ports chiefly affected, and it is proposed to admit to Palestine forthwith the comparatively small number of immigrants who were actually en route for Palestine at the time when immigration was suspended. The number of these cases is, I understand, about 1,500. When these have, been admitted and absorbed, it is proposed, in conjunction with the Zionist organization, to admit only as many immigrants as can be absorbed into the industrial and agricultural life of the 569 community. When this proviso has been clearly understood by the local population the greater part of the present agitation will, I hope, die down. On the other hand, the great body of Jews throughout the world will, I am sure, agree, if they give the matter the serious consideration which it deserves, that it would not be in their interest, either as a community or as individuals, that large numbers of immigrants should enter Palestine with no prospect of employment or means of livelihood awaiting them there.
A good many rather exaggerated statements have recently got into circulation to the effect that a large number of Jewish immigrants into Palestine are infected with communist ideas. This, happily, is not the case; on the other hand, a smaller proportion of recent immigrants have proved to be so infected. It must be remembered that these immigrants have come from a country where it is an age-long tradition that the Government is the enemy and not the friend of the people, or, at any rate, of the Jewish section of the community. It is, therefore, hardly surprising that some immigrants have found it difficult to adapt themselves to the unfamiliar conditions in Palestine. As a result of the disturbance in Jaffa, a careful search has taken place, and all aliens known to hold communist views have been expelled from the country. Steps have also been taken to ensure that when immigration recommences, persons who prove to hold views of this nature shall, so far as possible, be excluded.
As regards the second point raised by the noble Lord, the present situation is that the Palestine Administration is at present, perhaps, somewhat over-staffed. This was, of course, quite inevitable, for in order to get the Administration launched on sound lines it was necessary to equip each. Department with a strong staff of vigorous and capable officers, it is expected, however, that in the course of the present financial year a certain number of the higher paid posts in the Administration will be abolished. It has been the constant endeavour of His Majesty's Government and of the High Commissioner to appoint Palestinians whenever possible to vacancies as they occur, and as suitable candidates can be found. There are already a large number of Palestinians, Christian, Jew and Moslem, in the service of the Administration, and it is hoped that the proportion will increase as the years go on.
570 I think the noble Lord was slightly misinformed as to the number of Jewish officers in the Administration. Of high officials, there are, as far as I am aware, only three —namely, the High Commissioner, the Legal Secretary, and the Director of the Department of Commerce and Industry. This is a very small number compared with the size of the Administration. It is true that the proportion between Jewish and other local junior officers is somewhat in favour of the former, when compared with the proportion between the Jewish and other sections of the population. This is, however, inevitable, in view of the difficulty of finding Christian or Moslem Palestinians who will accept and are qualified to occupy these posts.
§ VISCOUNT BRYCEMy Lords, I should like to ask the noble Duke who has just spoken whether he can give; the House any information upon one point of some interest in connection with his statement, I itself extremely interesting. Are any inquiries or surveys now being taken through Palestine with the object of ascertaining what is the area of the unoccupied or scantily populated areas in which it would be possible to settle immigrants? The. difficulty, as your Lordships know, is that in Palestine, while some areas —such as the middle and lower Jordan Valley and the coastal plain along the Mediterranean, which is very dry —are at present very thinly peopled, the rest of the country is pretty well populated. It is, of course, very difficult to introduce into peopled I areas any considerable number of immigrants, and it is not unnatural that much I disquiet and anxiety should have arisen I among the existing population, which is chiefly Moslem, upon that subject; but there are unoccupied areas. These areas might be rendered habitable and fertile if there were a proper supply of water. Water might be provided from the Jordan hills along the western side, by the construction of dams and reservoirs, or in the Jordan Valley, by the construction of a dam, which would impound the waters for the production of electric power and also for the irrigation of the middle and lower parts of the valley. But these things are rather in the distance, and would require the expenditure of a certain amount of capital.
Apart from that, there are some areas which are more thinly peopled than others, and if the. Government desire to resume the 571 policy of admitting immigration, it would seem convenient that they should occupy the intermediate time in endeavouring to make inquiries into the subject. Perhaps they are already making these inquiries and are inaugurating surveys to see in what parts the state of the population will allow immigrants to be introduced. I suggest that that would be a very useful thing to do in the meantime. It might have another good effect. It might allow intending immigrants, and their friends in Europe and America, to know that steps were being taken to allow immigration as soon as it was possible that immigration could be resumed. It might also tend to reassure the existing settled population by showing that the Government, when they did allow immigration to be resumed, were contemplating the introduction of it as far as possible into the areas already unoccupied, thus avoiding the difficulties that would arise if large bo dies of new immigrants were introduced into places where the population was already pretty nearly as thick as the land would support. For these reasons it may be an exceedingly useful course to take such steps as I venture to suggest, and I should be glad to know from His Majesty's Government whether any surveys of this kind are in the contemplation of the authorities now in control.
THE DUKE OF SUTHERLANDI regret that it is not possible at the present moment to inform the noble Viscount whether such inquiries as he suggests are actually taking place, but I will find out, and I hope shortly to be able to inform the noble Viscount privately, or in your Lordships' House.
§ LORD SYDENHAMMy Lords, I have already spoken at some length on the situation in Palestine and I do not propose to occupy more than a few minutes of your Lordships' time on this occasion. Since I spoke, however, I have received a great deal more information, which goes to show that the riots were not confined to Jaffa, but extended to at least three other places, where they were very violent and caused great loss of life. From a letter which I have received from a Palestinian, I learn that the Superintendent of Police stated that some of the Jews and Jewish police were armed. This letter states that three and a half tons of dynamite were discovered in a single Jewish house in Jaffa, and that 572 arms and ammunition were found in many other Jewish colonies. It was also stated in the Morning Post yesterday that a British eye-witness declared that he had seen a Jew throwing bombs in the street. That would look as if it had been intended to set up a terror in Palestine, such as we have seen in other places. This is not, of course, intended by the Zionists here, but it is the natural result of the introduction of many people of very uncertain character.
I am very doubtful whether the number of Bolshevists introduced into Palestine is as small as the noble Duke thinks. From another letter from a Palestinian, written on May 24 last, I may quote the following —
A German Jew who has fought against England during the last war can come to Palestine and buy lands at once, while a Christian Englishman who has fought and shed his blood cannot buy land in Palestine. Last year, under the pretence of keeping prices low in Palestine, the export of barley, wheat and other cereals was prohibited from Palestine, though the crops were exceptionally good and in excess of the country's needs. The Zionist Committee who wanted that measure for the benefit of their immigrants had advised the Government to accept that ruinous measure. What has been the result of that measure? We have now in Palestine about 40,000 tons of wheat, barley dari, seed, beans, peas, and lentils from the old crop, and the new crop has begun, and on these 40,000 tons the poor peasants lose £ 150,000.''I do not know if that statement is true, but I think it is a question into which the Government ought to look.There is another point in this letter which I should like to quote.
England has not even the consolation of seeing her trade prosper in Palestine, for which she shed the blood of more than 250,000 of her sons and spent more than £ 300,000,000. During the first 18 months after the Armistice Palestine's imports consisted of 80 per cent, of British goods, but after these first 18 months the German and Austrian goods began to arrive gradually, and now I regret to tell you that the German and Austrian goods, imported 95 per cent, by the Jews, fill our markets, and scarcely 15 per cent, to 20 per cent, of our imports come from England.''Again, I venture to think, the Government ought to look into that, because that might result from the appointment of a Jewish Minister of Commerce.I heard with great interest Mr. Churchill's speech on Palestine in the House of Commons yesterday, and I admired and envied his great oratorical power, but he did not seem to me to have got in the least to the bottom of this great and important question. He did admit that the whole source of the trouble arose from the 573 Zionist movement, but he failed to see the effects of the violation of the promises made by Lord Allenby to the Palestinians. He went to see a pre-war Jewish colony, and was delighted with what he saw. He sampled the wine there, and spoke in the highest terms of what was going on. But that was an old colony of Jews formed under Turkish rule, and was not in the slightest danger until the advent of the Zionists. He never seems, however, to have gone to see the places of Moslem or Christian cultivation, which, in some cases, is quite, as good as that of the Jews.
He attributed all the resentment to the Arabs, and said nothing about the feelings of the Christians, who very nearly equalled in number the Jews when we occupied the country; and no one can feel the present state of things more keenly than do the Christians. I hope the Government will look closely into these matters and give us some further information, as to whether the serious charges which I and others have made, are true or not. It is most essential that we should have the fullest and the most accurate information as to what is going on. Therefore, I hope that a full report on these riots at Jaffa, and three other places at least, will be published without delay.
§ LORD LAMINGTONWill the noble Duke consider the desirability of inquiries as to the accuracy of what I said about Haifa and Bethlehem?