British Mandate: A Survey of Palestine: Volume I - Page 74

CHAPTER II.

The Jewish Agency made arrangements to provide co-operation with the Government in the campaign against terrorism and the measure of assistance thus afforded was forthcoming until recently.

In April, 1944, the Histadruth succeeded in securing, by majority vote, a resolution by The International Trades Union Congress in support of the Biltmore programme. In August, after a brisk electoral campaign, the Mapai secured a victory in the elections for the Elected Assembly of the Jewish community, thereby emphasizing the support of the Yishuv for the Biltmore programme and fortifying the Jewish public in their opposition to the White Paper. In December, at a joint session of the Elected Assembly and the Inner Zionist Council, in the presence of Dr. Weizmann, resolutions were passed reaffirming the Zionist objective of an Agency-controlled immigration and settlement leading to a Jewish State in an unpartitioned Palestine. The decision of His Majesty's Government to form a Jewish Brigade Group, announced in September, was regarded by both Jews and Arabs as a further step towards the attainment of Jewish national status, and hailed in the Jewish press as a belated recognition of this right.

Signs of cohesion and coherence in Arab political activity began to emerge during 1944, although personal jealousies still predominated. In June and July activity was centered round the Arab National Fund which increased its strength by means of an energetic campaign throughout Palestine to advertise the dangers arising from the Jewish purchases of Arab lands and to collect funds for their per-emption. In September, after the breakdown of discussions aimed at the selection of an all-party delegation, a neutral representative in the person of Musa Eff. el Alami was selected to attend, on behalf of the Arabs of Palestine, the preparatory conference on Arab unity which, after protracted negotiations and delays throughout the summer, was held at Alexandria in October. One of the decisions reached at this conference was to create Arab propaganda bureau; on the 15th November a committee of the conference appointed to consider the matter determined on the establishment of bureau at Washington, London and Jerusalem under the title of the Arab Office. These bureau were established during the following months under the direction of Musa Eff. el Alami.

Symptomatic of the rising tide of racial tempers was the breach which occurred in May between the Arab and Jewish members of the Jerusalem municipal corporation when the Jewish councillors

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