Art. 3.-PROBLEMS OF THE NEW PALESTINE. 1. England and Palestine. Constable, 1918. By Herbert Sidebotham. 2. Syria: An Economic Survey. By Dr Arthur Ruppin. Provisional Zionist Committee, New York, 1918. 3. Land Tenure in Palestine. By F. Oppenheimer and J. Ettinger. Jewish National Fund, The Hague, 1918. 4. Palestine: The Organ of the British Palestine Committee. Vols. I to IV. Manchester, 1917-19. 5. The Zionist Review: The Organ of the English Zionist Federation. Vol. I. London, 1918. 6. Syria and the Holy Land. By Sir George Adam Smith. Hodder & Stoughton, 1918. 7. The True Boundaries of the Holy Land. By Samuel Hillel Isaacs. Chicago, 1917. 8. Palestine Exploration: Past and Future. By W. Flinders Petrie. Constable & Co., 1918. THE creation of every new State, each transfer of sovereignty that arises out of the late war, will in itself be a problem, relatively simple; but out of every such creation, every such transfer, there will arise a series of problems that demand solution, the simplest of which will be of considerable complexity. Which group of problems will prove the most difficult of solution it is impossible to say; the answer depends on many factors which cannot be rightly estimated in advance. Thus, whether the Palestine settlement will be an easy one or not, time alone can show. Viewing it, however, objectively to-day, one can indicate and discuss the numerous embryonic difficulties that are already discernible. The first of the group of problems that demand satisfactory solution, if the future of the land and of its peoples is to be secured, is that of the government or administration to be set up and to remain in control for the first years, at any rate, of the new era. This is, in fact, one of the most complicated and difficult of all the problems. If the country had a homogeneous population it would be easier. But it has not. The people of the land are divided into at least three main classes, widely different from one another in civilisation, in faith, in economic development, in promise for the future. A further complication is due to the undertaking by the British Government, countersigned by the principal Allies and the United States, to use their best endeavours to establish in Palestine a national home for the Jewish people, while safeguarding the civil and religious rights of the non-Jewish communities in the land. Even the problem of the Holy Places affects the question of system of government, for the rights of the non-indigenous communities in respect of these must also be safeguarded. If Palestine were a purely Moslem land, inhabited entirely or almost entirely by Arabs, the problem would be relatively simple; but this is not the case. If, again, the intention were to create a Jewish State more or less on the same lines as those of other national States, the problem would not be much more difficult; but such is not the intention. Lastly, if foreign States had no special interests in Palestine apart from those of commerce and of their subjects resident in the land, the problem would be much simplified; but these special interests are only too prominent. It follows that, while recognising the fundamental differences between the various sections of the people and the futility of any attempt to remove those differences, an administration must be set up which will safeguard all the legitimate interests of those populations, delegate to them as wide a system of self-government as is practicable, and yet prevent them from encroaching on one another or obtaining an undue advantage, while at the same time securing the protection of, and free access to, the Holy Places of the three faiths which Palestine enshrines. It will be granted that there must be a Suzerain or protecting Power. Its first duty will be to appoint an administration charged with all the functions of government that concern the country as a whole and are independent of racial or religious distinctions. This Government will be neither Jewish nor Moslem. If it British, in accordance with the wishes of the popuation of the country and of the Jews outside, or, as an alternative, American, it will be neutral as between hose rival faiths, and on this account ideally fitted o take charge of those Holy Places-the Christian -to which there are, as it were, conflicting claims. Only such a Government can hold the balance even between Latin and Greek in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The Central Government might resemble generally that of a British Crown Colony, except that it should draw its personnel, so far as possible, from the population of the land. It would naturally handle those affairs which concern two or more national sections of the population. To deal with other matters-religion, education, poor relief, the raising of taxes, etc.national units enjoying the widest powers of autonomy should be created. This national autonomy would not be geographical but cultural; that is to say, all the Jews of Palestine, no matter how scattered or in what surroundings they find themselves, would be grouped together in a national unit; but in those cases in which practically the whole of a group of population is Jewish or Arab-the individual Jewish colonies, for instancethe local government would be Jewish or Arab, as the case may be. This would be inevitable under any system of local self-government; for, if nine-tenths of the popula tion of a town or village is Jewish, under no system of local government in which the population has any voice can the government fail to be Jewish. If the minority thought it ran any risk, there would always be the Central Government as a means of protection. Thi scheme of self-governing national units would be no innovation in Palestine or the Near East. It would be only a natural development of the Millet system unde Turkey, which in practice in Palestine became the system of autonomous government under which the Jewish colonies flourished before the outbreak of War. Thi system, as described in 'Palestine-The Rebirth of ar Ancient People,'* is as follows: 'The Waad, or local council, has a wide scope. It is electe annually by all adult landowners and resident tax-payers o three years' standing, independent of sex. To this counci the Turkish Government assigns full powers of local ad ministration. The Central Government, in fact, takes n * By A. M. Hyamson, Sidgwick and Jackson, 1917. Further interest in the colony beyond requiring annually the Caxation for which it is liable. 'The Waad consequently has far greater powers and responsibilities than a town or district council in Europe. The egistration of births, marriages, and deaths, and of titles o land, rests with it. It is responsible for the division of oth the local and central taxation among its constituents. chools, synagogues, public hygiene, including the services of hysician, chemist and nurse, water-supply, public baths, and any forms of public charity, are under its control. It conerns itself also with the quality of food offered for sale. 'The Council acts through a number of committees, which eal with such matters as finance, education, and public ecurity. An arbitration committee settles any disputes hich may arise between settlers. So successful have these rbitration committees been in securing the general condence that their services are often sought by Arab litigants, ot local residents, who are more willing to accept the ecisions of these Jewish committees than those of the Gov-nment Courts appointed for the purpose of trying their uses.' Even before the form of administration of the new alestine is determined, a decision will have to be reached garding the territorial limits of the State, for these re not beyond question. A literature is arising round is subject which can be discussed from the historical, e economic and the military point of view. On the st aspect much light is thrown by the late Mr Isaacs' he True Boundaries of the Holy Land.' Mr Sidetham, in his 'England and Palestine,' as might be excted of A Student of War,' devotes considerable tention to the question from the point of view of fence. The boundary commission that will undoubtly be set up should also consult A Note on the undaries of Palestine' in 'Zionism and the Jewish ture' (Murray, 1916), and Nos. 13, 14 and 16 of lume IV of 'Palestine,' which contains a series of ll-informed articles on this subject. The historical boundaries of Palestine have varied dely. The Kingdom of Israel, at its zenith, extended atively far to the north and included within the aelite sphere of influence Damascus and a portion Syria. At another time the Jewish Kingdom was ol. 231.-No. 459. Y 6 confined almost to the Judæan hills. The Palestine 'the Promise' was to extend to the Euphrates; but, exce during the reign of King Solomon, this promise can be said to have been fulfilled. The limits that ha become proverbial are from Dan to Beersheba'; a these, translated into modern geographical terms, m be accepted with slight extensions as adequate for new Palestine. The ancient Dan lay in a line with Phoenician port of Tyre; Beersheba is a few miles no of the Egyptian frontier. To the north of Dan lies Lebanon Province, with well-defined southern bout aries. Between Lebanon and Palestine there is no ro for another State to exist; there can, therefore, no question that the boundaries of the two Sta should march together. The Lebanese are satisfied dwell within their own limits; they have no desire expand southwards. The northern limits of Palest should therefore be drawn where those of the exist Lebanon Province end. A suitable northern boundary would start from mouth of the Nahr-el-Auwali, a few miles north of Si (Saida), running south-east and skirting the south extremity of the Lebanon and of Mount Hermon, t point level with Tyre but about one degree east of t city. On the west the boundary is of course the Me terranean, and on the south the Egyptian frontier, cluding within the limits of Palestine, however, the p of Akabah (the ancient Ezion-Geber) at the head of Red Sea, a port just outside the Egyptian frontier wh is of little if any value either to Arabia or to Egy but which is economically essential to the Palestin State, inasmuch as it is its maritime gate to the ea The only boundary remaining to be settled is that on east. Here the natural frontier of Palestine touc the desert; but against the adoption of this limit th are (1) the natural desire of the Arabs for a secure c nexion between the Damascus region and the Hedj and (2) the Hedjaz Railway, which, having been bu as an act of piety mainly to serve religious ends, I acquired almost a religious sanctity in the eyes of Moslem. For these reasons it would be very unwise attempt to extend Palestine to the desert. The bounda should be drawn some distance west of the Hed |