Political report of the Executive of the Jewish Agency submitted to the ... Zionist Congress and the ... session of the Council of the Jewish Agency · 1937-08-01 · 8.1937 · p. Seite 42

42 fulness was therefore needed to ensure its maintenance. The reasons which actuated Jewish conduct during this trying period were set forth by a spokesman of the Executive at the meeting of the Palestinian members of the Zionist Actions Committee (22nd June, 1936) in the following terms: "... Firstly, because we are anxious to educate our youth and our people generally to follow ethical rules of conduct: they are,to defend themselves, to ward off and, as far as they can, prevent attacks, but on no account to harm the innocent. Secondly, because if we imitate the Arabs and set about attacking any stray passer-by we forfeit all moral justification to protest against Arab misdeeds — on the contrary, we shall then be implicitly justifying the use of violence on their part. Thirdly, because it is in our interest that the Arab population should be educated to keep the peace and not disturb it. If there are people among us who think that if the Jews had adopted the practice of retaliating indiscriminately against any Arab this would have reestablished the peace, let them disabuse their minds of this notion. The very opposite would have been the case. What we are interested in is that every Arab should know that so long as he behaves himself and harbours no evil intentions, he is safe — and not that every Arab should feel that his life is in any case in danger from the Jews..." The arming of Jews by the Government through the establishment of the Supernumerary Police Force was in a very real sense a vindication of the self-restraint which the Jewish community had imposed upon itself and it effectively contributed to its continued maintenance. TEL AVIV POKT 56. As previously indicated, the disturbances did not only throw the Jews of Palestine on the defensive, but afforded them opportunities of making new headway. It was indeed through efforts of self-protection against the dangers which threatened the life of the Yislmv in the most vulnerable points that the most important successes were scored. As recorded in the Executive's Schedule Memorandum of October 1936, the Jewish population strove successfully to adapt itself to the changed conditions and the compensatory effects of this effort of adaptation soon began to be felt. The challenge of the Arab strike was quickly taken up. Emancipation from a position of dependence on the Arab economy became of necessity an objective to be im-