Cause of Moral
Disintegration
SIR,—The official reporter of the recent Nonconformist pilgrimage to Palestine, in his impressions, is recorded to have said that " sonic of the party had to be on their guard against the subtle propaganda of the Arabs, principally drivers and dragomen, who never lose an opportunity of pointing out to open-minded visitors the justice of the Arab claims" and that " those who visited Zionist Colonies, on the other hand, and discussed the situation with the leaders of the Zionist movement, were greatly impressed by their statesmanship and resourcefulness."
I shall be grateful for the hospitality of your columns to make a few brief observations on these two points.
First, as to the Arab propaganda. It is true that chauffeurs and dragomen take advantage of every opportunity of informing visitors of the grievances of which they arc the personal victims. taut in no case that has come to my notice have the statements they make been proved to be untrue. But what is important to remember is that the Arab population of Palestine is only about a million, who are very poor and cannot afford to pay for propaganda. The Zionists have not only abundant wealth but are powerfully represented in every political party in this and in almost every country in the world. David against Goliath were evenly matched when cornpared with Arab against Jew.
Secondly, as to the statesmanship and resourcefulness of the Zionists, I would like to submit the following facts regarding the Zionist Colonies. mainly agricultural, (a) The Arabs have never had a fair and free opportunity to develop their own land; prior to the War they were under the Turks and now they are under the Mandate.
(b) The Zionists have had abundant wealth and such success as they have had has not been economically sound. They have been granted preferential treatment all round and their boom is less healthy than the boom in industry due to the making of armaments is in England.
(c) Thal the prosperity of Palestine is not due to Zionism only is proved by the fact that Iraq, Transjordan and Syria are, if anything, still more prosperous.
But the question of Jew versus Arab is much more than a mere economic one. No amotint of economic prosperity can compensate for the ethical deterioration of the country under the Mandate, the direct result of Zionist immigration. Here are some facts.
Prior to the Mandate there were in the whole of Palestine only 25 licences for the sale of drink. Now there are 1,000 in spite of the fact that the Moslem religion precludes indulgence in drink and in spite of the protest of the leaders of all faiths
and sects in Palestine. Under Zionism vices and crimes unknown to the Arabs are now so rampant that Tel Aviv is known in the East as the Chicago of the Holy Land. In the report published a few days ago it was stated that the divorces per 1,000 marriages in Palestine were:—
Christians 16, Moslems 294, Jews 509, i.e., more than one half of the Jewish marriages ended in divorce. Moral values have suffered a slump under Zionism.
What economic prosperity can atone for such a result?
BRITISH JUSTICE.