United Nations

“ Although the total population of Palestine is less than two million, its economic life presents the complex phenomenon of two distinctive economies one Jewish and one Arab—closely involved with one another and yet in essential features separate. ”

“ To contend, therefore, that there is an international obligation to the effect that Jewish immigration should continue with a view to establishing a Jewish majority in the whole of Palestine, would mean ignoring the wishes of the Arab population and their views as to their own well-being. ”

“ Competition and a sense of pride on the part of the Arabs have also had their share in raising Arab standards of living. Nevertheless, the economic relations between the two groups have something of the character of trade between different nations. As consumers, their separateness is less marked, but as producers (with the main exception of the citrus industry) they maintain a degree of separateness unyielding, thus far, to the pressure of the economic forces which might have been expected to bring about a greater degree of homogeneity. ”

“ However, even if it were incontrovertibly established that in economic and social life the Arab community had appreciably benefited from the establishment of the National Home and the mandatory regime, it is plain, as the Royal Commission of 1936 emphasized, that such considerations weigh little with those who direct Arab political life. The basic premise of Arab political leaders is that self-government in an independent State from which all further Jewish immigration is barred alone offers any acceptable guarantee of their "rights and position." ”

“ The economy of Palestine presents a fascinating study, both because of its rapid development as an area of mass immigration and because of peculiarities in structure due to the lack of homogeneity between the two major elements of the population. In addition, the economic life of Palestine has more recently been subject to the quickening and disturbing influence of an enormously increased demand arising from wartime and post-war military expenditure. ”

“ In the Jewish case, the issues of the Jewish State and unrestricted immigration are inextricably interwoven. On the one hand, the Jewish State is needed in order to assure a refuge for the Jewish immigrants who are clamoring to come to Palestine from the displaced persons camps and from other places in Europe, North Africa and the Near East, where their present plight is difficult. On the other hand, a Jewish State would have urgent need of Jewish immigrants in order to affect the present great numerical preponderance of Arabs over Jews in Palestine. ”

“ When it is asked what is meant by the development of the Jewish National Home in Palestine, it may be answered that it is not the imposition of a Jewish nationality upon the inhabitants of Palestine as a whole, but the further development of the existing Jewish community, with the assistance of Jews in other parts of the world, in order that it may become a centre in which the Jewish people as a whole may take, on grounds of religion and race, an interest and a pride. ”

“ The inflation in Palestine was greater than in the United States of America or Great Britain, but somewhat less than in some other Middle East countries. It was due, on the side of demand, to a large expansion of income and, on the side of supply, to an inability of output to respond to the increase in demand for consumer goods on account of (1) the cutting off of imports, (2) the diversion of local production to military needs, and (3) the limited capacity of agriculture to increase output in a short period. ”

“ The conflict between Arab and Jewish political aspirations, intensified by the growth of Arab nationalism throughout the Arabic-speaking countries and by the growth of anti-Semitism in some European countries, excluded any possibility of adjustment which would allow the establishment of self-governing institutions. Had self-governing institutions been created, the majority in the country, who never willingly accepted Jewish immigration, would in all probability have made its continuance impossible, causing thereby the negation of the Jewish National Home. ”

“ The regulative principle adopted by the mandatory Power in 1922 was explained in the statement of policy (Churchill memorandum) :
". . . immigration cannot be so great in volume as to exceed whatever may be the economic capacity of the country at the time to absorb new arrivals. It is essential to ensure that the immigrants should not be a burden upon the people of Palestine as a whole, and that they should not deprive any section of the present population of their employment." ”

“ Broadly speaking, the industries which have taken root in Palestine are either consumption-goods industries, industries based to a great extent on the local market, industries whose location is not determined by the presence of raw materials but which depend on local skill as does the diamond industry, or in some few cases (as, for example, the potash industry and some food-processing industries) those which depend on local raw materials. It must be remembered that almost all these industries are small-scale enterprises. ”

“ The right of any community to use force as a means of gaining its political ends is riot admitted in the British Commonwealth. Since the beginning of 1945 the Jews have implicitly claimed this right and have supported by an organized campaign of lawlessness, murder and sabotage their contention that, whatever other interests might be concerned, nothing should be allowed to stand in the way of a Jewish State and free Jewish immigration into Palestine. ”

“ Ten years later the Government of Palestine has affirmed substantially the same conclusion:105/
"Over all, the conditions of the Arab community have more materially improved during the past twenty-seven years, as is shown perhaps most emphatically in their rapid increase through natural cause; their standard of living has been greatly raised; and their ability to provide for themselves in a competitive world has been enhanced." ”

“ Palestine is not very favorably endowed for industrial production apart from its geographical location, which is of considerable importance in relation to the whole Middle East. It has no raw materials of any consequence apart from the Dead Sea minerals. Nevertheless, the influx of immigrants with developed tastes for a variety of consumer goods, and the development of electric power by the hydroelectric installation on the Jordan and by oil driven plants at Haifa and Tel-Aviv, provided an important foundation for the industrial development of the last fifteen years. ”

“ Costs of food production on Jewish mixed-crop farms in Palestine are relatively high and the pressure to maintain industrial wages consequently very strong; since the rise in industrial wages has not been altogether offset by increases in output per worker, the labour costs of Palestine industry are high. When the world shortages of consumer goods are overcome, Palestine industry will be subject, both at home and in external markets, to the competition of lower cost production. ”

“ The desire of the Arab people of Palestine to safeguard their national existence is a very natural desire. However, Palestinian nationalism, as distinct from Arab nationalism, is itself a relatively new phenomenon, which appeared only after the division of the "Arab rectangle" by the settlement of the First World War. The National Home policy and the vigorous policy of immigration pursued by the Jewish leadership has sharpened the Arab fear of danger from the intruding Jewish population. ”

“ It is true that large numbers of Jews do not today attempt to defend the crimes that have been committed in the name of these political aspirations. They recognize the damage caused' to their good name by these methods in the court of world opinion. Nevertheless, the Jewish community of Palestine still publicly refuses its help to the Administration in suppressing terrorism, on the ground that the Administration's policy is opposed to Jewish interests. ”

“ Palestine is still mainly an agricultural country since about 65 per cent of the population gain a living directly from agriculture. Nevertheless, the country is not self-sufficient in food and is especially deficient in cereal production, about 50 per cent of its cereals being supplied by imports. According to government estimates, most of the land capable of being cultivated by present methods is under crops, and any considerable development depends on more advanced methods of farming and, more particularly, on more extensive irrigation. ”

“ In the circumstances of the mandatory regime, that necessary measure of understanding between the two peoples of Palestine has not yet been evident. The immediate and compelling reality is the constant pressure exerted by Arab and Jewish political leaders to maintain and advance their respective national interests. Yet there are those, both Jew and Arab, who believe in the possibility of mutually advantageous understanding and, as circumstances permit, seek its promotion.141/ Instances of co-operation and good neighbourly relations in the affairs of everyday life may be observed. ”

“ Prior to 1918, the male population of Palestine was subject to conscription for the Turkish army, and the discontinuance of this practice is sometimes advanced in explanation of the rapid increase in the Arab population since then. It seems probable that the true rate of natural increase is, however, lower than the observed rate owing to an influx into Palestine of young Arab women. As reproduction rates are related to the age-sex composition of the population, according to the census of 1931 the effect is to over-estimate the reproduction rates in the case of the Moslem population. ”

“ The Arab population has increased almost entirely as a result of an excess of births over deaths. Indeed, the natural rate of increase of Moslem Arabs in Palestine is the highest in recorded statistics,1 a phenomenon explained by very high fertility rates coupled with a marked decline in death rates as a result of improved conditions of life and public health, The natural rate of increase of Jews is also relatively high, but is conditioned by a favorable age distribution of the population due to the high rate of immigration. ”

“ Any considerable development of agriculture in Palestine depends to a large degree on irrigation. The only extensive areas of good land which are undeveloped are the Huleh Valley in the extreme north-east and the very much more extensive semi-desert area of the northern part of the Beersheba sub-district. The former is a swamp which could be reclaimed by draining, and in respect of which a Jewish concession originally granted by the Turkish Government is in existence. ”

“ That the Arab population is and will continue to be the numerically preponderant population in Palestine, unless offset by free "and substantial Jewish immigration, is undisputed. The Arab birth rate is considerably higher than the Jewish birth rate. Only large-scale Jewish immigration, strongly assisted by capital and efforts from outside Palestine, can provide the basis for the attainment of numerical parity between Arabs and Jews in the population. ”

“ Palestine is an area of winter rainfall and summer drought, and agriculture in Palestine is dominated by that fact. Summer crops are possible under natural conditions only in regions where the rainfall is sufficient for the ground to retain moisture during the summer months; this fact as a rule necessitates ploughing the bare fallow in the winter months. Where land can be irrigated, the soil is usually capable of being intensively cultivated all the year around, and Jewish agriculturists have given much attention to the problems of irrigation. ”

“ The Reports of several expert commissions have indicated that, owing to the natural growth of the Arab population and the steady sale in recent years of Arab land to Jews, there is now in certain areas no room for further transfers of Arab land, whilst in some other areas such transfers of land must be restricted if Arab cultivators are to maintain their existing standard of life and a considerable landless Arab population is not soon to be created. ”

“ Over the Jordan Valley and further south in the Beersheba area, the rainfall is too small for summer crops unless the land is watered by irrigation. Under natural conditions even winter crops are subject to frequent failure in these regions. In the circumstances, it is not surprising to find the population distribution in Palestine coinciding very closely with rainfall distribution, if some allowance is made for the act that the plains are, for other reasons, more favourable to dense settlement than are the hills. ”

“ The Arabs consider that all of the territory - of Palestine is by Tight Arab patrimony. Although in an Arab State they would recognize the right of Jews to continue in possession - of land legally acquired by them during the Man-date, they would regard as a violation of their "natural" right any effort, such as partition, to reduce the territory of Palestine. ”

“ Apart from a small number of experts, no Jewish workers are employed in Arab undertakings, and apart from citrus groves (where some Arabs work as seasonal labourers on Jewish farms) , very few Arabs are employed in Jewish enterprises. Indeed, government service, the Potash Company and the Oil Refinery are almost the only places where Arabs and Jews meet as coworkers in the same organizations. ”

“ The Jewish immigrants to Palestine, who are said to be merely returning to they home-land, are portrayed as having been primarily responsible for developing the economy of the country, for establishing an infant industry, for cultivating theretofore waste lands, for instituting irrigation schemes and for improving the standard of living of Palestine Arabs as well as Jews. ”

“ Arab cultivators produce over 80 per cent of the total cereal crops and more than 98 per cent of the olives. Jewish agriculture, however, is mainly devoted to mixed farming and is for the most part cash farming, about 75 per cent of the produce being sold on the market. The majority of Arab cultivators, on the other hand, are to a greater extent self-sufficient and retain on the average about 75 per cent of their total production for their own consumption. ”