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Nearly eae hundred and fifty years ago missionaries began to.

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This iittle country of the Two Seas, old in history and story, dear to the
yeople of three great faiths, its most important city, Jerusalem, being the
Holy Cityfor Jew and Christian and Moslem alike. A little country that.
has figured in the history of the world- its plains have beer the battle-
fieldsof many nations; a litile country where occurred the tragedy _ ee
the ageS, 4 tragedy,however, that brought to the world 2 blessing that must
at last, bring the who.e world to the Christ! Then will ‘the Goléen ule
oe the law for aii men and the world will ve at peace.

It is not a world of peace today and that little country, where the Christ
dived and taught , is a very troubled little lend. For over thirty

years Yaliestine was my home, and I wes there during those tragic days fron
the summer of 1946 to 1949 end I have kept closely in touch with condi-

tions since. i have been asked to tell you something of those days. Per-

haps to go through my diary of that time and tell you sowiething of the
events as they occurred, will help you to understand the situation.

_ but first let me sey thot Palestine had no army . © For 1300 years the

country had been Arab. . There was sa time in the Middle Ages when the
arabs led the world in culture, architecture, ( you remember the Alhambra
and Alcazar in Spein) in science, medicirie, mathematiés arid astronomy=
and thie was when our ancestors, yours and mine, were pagan. At that
time they ruled the Near East, Northern Africe , Spain ete.

then there came a dark period.the Arab of Palestine was under the Turk

_ for four bundared years. There was no progress, and when a person or

nation does not progress there is a slipping back’. There can be n
standing still. This pofer és eencerned chiexly wih hs Aral «ef Palestine,
e6ean to enter...
_ Palestine. There was an awakening of t e Christien Areb. Moslems, ~~
too, were interested in education and by 1946 long strides had been taken.
The youth of Palestine began to dream 6f freedom and orice more greatness
for the Arab. Christian and Moslem were studying and dreaming together.
There were Jews in Palestine whose families had siways lived there, and
there were new comers who were received in a friendly way by the Arabs. .
Then came the Balfour Declaration: “Great Beitain views with favorithe —
estavlishment in Palestine of a Mationes#?Tor the Jewish people,it being
clearly understood that nothing Shall be donewhich may predjudice thé
Civil aud religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Paleu-
tine.“ The Arabs were alarmed but there seemed to be a saving clause.

  

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Great britain had already made the McMahon treaty promising fréedam to
all the araps of the Near Last 1f they would help the Allies in the great
war with Germany and Turkey. Palestine trusted bothGreat Britain ard
the United States and both have. "played her false". ee meee

after the war Great Britain was given the mandate of Falestine. The ~
people welcomed her. They would learn from her the art of government
ana when the mandate ended , they would be ready for self-government.

_M@ny Arabs and Jews were in governzent offices. Put the icMahon

»rowises and the Balfour Declaration could not both be kept. Great Brit-

ein tried to satisfy the Arabs on one hand and the Jews on the other, an

impossibility.when the Jews began to come into the country in large num-

bers the Arabs objectedfritain was not “playinz fair" then the British

began to restrict immigration and the Jews objected. Britain was not
“slaying fair" with them. Then the serious troubles began. —

 

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