PALESTINE: No Shalom

The café overlooking the teeming beach was jammed with Sabbath idlers sipping blood-red gazoz, Tel Aviv’s favorite syrup-and-soda drink. One youth sat quietly alone, smoking cigarets and drinking thick Turkish coffee. Two men approached his table, murmured “Shalom” (Peace), the traditional Jewish greeting. “Shalom,” the youth replied. The two sat down.

The three men represented the three Jewish resistance groups in Palestine: 1) Haganah (Defense), largest and most nearly moderate; 2) Irgun Zvai Leumi (National Military Organization), and 3) the Stern Gang, both outlawed advocates of terror. For hours they argued vehemently in the cigaret smoke haze. But in the end they found no shalom.

Haganah had arranged the café meeting to urge a curb on Jewish violence while there was still hope of winning concessions from the British. Its representative brought a plea from moderate Zionist leaders to “isolate [terrorists], deny them all encouragement, support and assistance.” The Irgun and Stern representatives turned down that appeal, and snarled “Jewish quislings” at Haganah.

After the failure of the seaside conference, the extremists began a new wave of terror, attacking track intersections until the country was in the grip of an internal blockade. Haganah countered with an “educational campaign” against Irgun and the Sternists, and actually raided arsenals belonging to the underground to destroy hidden explosives.

Not only Palestine Jewry but Jews all over the world, in the election of delegates to a new World Zionist Congress, were passing judgment on the wisdom of this strategy of terror. On Dec. 9, the newly elected Congress would meet in Basel, Switzerland, to choose a new Jewish Agency Executive and reframe or reaffirm Jewish policy on Palestine.

The two other interested parties were also busy recasting their strategy. Palestine Arabs sent a delegation to confer with the exiled Grand Mufti in Cairo. Arab participation in the London Conference on Palestine when it reconvenes on Dec. 17 may result.

The British began reinforcing their Holy Land garrison (present strength: 100,000) with a view to doubling the number of troops by year’s end. The rumored reason: an important Government policy decision on Palestine, due some time in January.