PALESTINE'S PROBLEMS

Hokitika Guardian, 4 January 1921, Page 1

PALESTINE'S PROBLEMS

HARD TASK FOR BRITAIN. The police problems of Palestine are varied, extensive, and exceptionally troublesome. Robbery is still accounted a respectable profession in the minds of many of the people, says the correspondent of the “Morning Post.” The Turkish administration admitted this, and dealt with many forms of robbery by paying backsheesh to the robbers. The British administration cannot allow that. At the same time, its system of justice unavoidably gives the robber who is caught a 1 Hitter run for his liberty than th e Turkish system. One robber, the other day—acquitted because of a flaw in the evidence, though no one had moral doubt of his guilt—paid eloquent, but rather inconvenient, tribute to the English.

■‘A great people and just are the English,” he announced in public. “By the mercy of God they allow to a poor man the fruits of his efforts. Under the Turk it was necessary to bril>e the police and to biribe the officials. Little was left to a poor man of what God had put in his hands. Under the English you bribe nolxidy. All the fruit ol your effort is vour own, and if the malice of the police brings you before the Cadi, lo! the English Cadi is a merciful man, knows that you were in need, and lets you go!”

Tli e police are not helped by such a testimonial!

In addition to robbers, who arc “native and the manner born,” and have not the handicap of a seriously hostile public opinion, there are robber bands formed by deserters from the Egyptian Labour Corps and other bands formed from the detritus of the old Turkish army. Travel by night is never quite safe, and robbery under arms will take some time to stamp out. POLITICAL SEDITION.

Apnfrt from the robbers, tbe police have a great deal of political and other sedition to combat. The Arabs are all bitterly discontented because they regard the British Power as coming to evict them in favour of the .Tews. Some of the agents of our Allies in the late war, with or without the sanction of their Government, have set themselves to help sedition against us in Palestine. The Russian Bolsheviks too, have agents in the country—mostly Jew, sonic professing to lie Arabs—who plot against British (rule, on a Pan-Tslam programme. There is another lot of Jewish Bolsheviks who work under instructions from Stockholm, and agitate for Soviet Communism.

'Religious questions are another source of ('rave trouble to the police. Ibe peace has to be kept between Moslem and .Jew, between Christian and .Tew, and between the different sects of Christians. This last is not the least of the police tasks, fur the differences between Greek Orthodox Church. Armenian Church, Roman Catholic Church, and Coptic (Church sometimes come to the stage at which they lead to, or threaten a breach of the peace. Just now the various Christian sects are more united than usual, because of opposition to th c Zionists, but no careful police department could reckon upon this unity continuing indefinitely.

A TYPICAL INSTANCE. As nil instrmce of the curious origin aml the sudden springing up of religious storms, this from the records of the last Feast of the Holy Fire. At the Greek Orthodox Easter the Greek Patriarch goes into the Holy Sepulchre alone and lire comes down to him from Heaven, which is communicated then by tapers and lamps to Orthodox churches all over the world. It is a great ceremony, and on this occasion the British Armv provided the guard of honour within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. A British officer had need of a chair and a chair was brought to him. But the chair inadvertently had been brought from the Armenian section, of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, and the Feast of the Holy Fire is a jealously-guarded Greek Orthodox monopoly. The presence of this Armenian chair was felt to he dangerous. The Greeks argued that if an Armenian chair Wfiro admitted once then thg Armenians would claim thp right always to have a chair at the ceremony and' next year there might he an Armenian sitting on the chair, and so this most highly-valued Greek Orthodox religious monopoly would he insidiously attacked. THE BRITISH SYSTEM. 1 am told that the ceremony was delayed an hour and a half by this unfortunate inadvertence, while the question was argued out. The presence of a strong British force prevented the argument from becoming a scuffle or a r iot—such things have not been unknown within the Church of the Holy Sepulchre—and a peaceful issue was somehow arrived at.

Dealing with these religious jealousies, which to our Western Christianity seem trivial and absurd, but which* seem to be part of the very life of Eastern Christianity, a police administration has to be always on guard. T learned that the British system in Palestine will be founded on an absolute censer-; vatism. All that has ancient usage will be respected.,No innovation of any'kind will be allowed. Tt is said to bo the only way of peace. Tt will call for a very learned historical section to decide what is and whnt is not warranted by ancient usage.