PALESTINE CONTRASTS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Volume 81, Issue 26, 23 October 1937, Page 7

PALESTINE CONTRASTS

The Modern Jew, the Primitive Arab WOMEN FARM LABOURERS In a lecture ou the country women of Paleatiue giveu at Auckland, Mrs Ariel Benison described the two different classes at present making their liYiag from the poil, MOn qna hand," slie said, "you have Jhe Arab women who for eenturiea have lived a primitire life, and ou the other the returned Jewish women who have given up ipiportant positions and professional oareera to cqme baek ta the land of their fathers. With the help of the British Government we a?e trying to mahe the con* ditious better for the Jewa and Araba alike, but it is a difficult task as the peasant elasses have yet to be tauglil the benefits of modern oivilisation." The Arab women, continued Mrs Bension, wero aecustomed to. doing all tho farm lahour. At tha age of 95 they looked mere like women of 60 and 70— "and not puy 60, either," she added. A.nother practice that they had found very dtecult to stamp out was the old krab custom of ehild marriage. Girls between the ages of ejght and nine werq quite frequeutly married to men well over 40, and as long as the mother was paid'a good price for her daughter 6he eould see no wrQug in this praotiee The administration in Palestjno had, to a certaiu extent, stamped out. this evil, and the marriage age for girls had now been raised to 14 years. . Child Marriages, Anothe? Arab custom described by Mrs Beusion was that of the Arab morriages. Aecordiug to the Korau, she said, each man was allpwed foqr wives, which he could taka aod dispqso of simuJtaaeQUsly. "The maia object for which an Arab man marries," continued Jdrs Beusion, "is to provide his farm with free labour. Women worh all tho time, and I know aomo of the peasant wivea who will take only a few iourg off to have a baby." The wprk of the Jewiah women iu he pouotry, Mrs Bension went on to splain, was excellent. After haring 2cii divoroed from their own country it nioro than two thousand years, and l many caseg not being allowed thg rivilege of owning soil, they wero very nthusiastio about their work and were .oing all they could to establish TOOdere nethods pf civilisation in the country. interesting eolonies had been establighod where tho main ideals were communal. Everybody wprkod in the incrests of the. gettlement iu genpral and

.here was no suggestion of self-better-aient. In her travels, Mrs Bension said that she had been very interested to see the wprk that • was bping dme for women of other countries. The Women 's International Zionist Organisation was affiliated with the Associated Country Women of tha World and the mpre she saw of the work being done, the more she was proud qf their affiliation. "The British people have been wonderful to us," she continued, "fend we feel that we have their wholp-hearted supporfc in this great movement to regain our own land. Throughout the long yeaTs of Jewish persecution England has stood by the natipn and we ara confident that with thair help W0 will improve the living conditiqns in Balestine,"