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 91

APPENDIX IV LETTER OF THE EXECUTIVE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER OF 30 AUGUST, 1936 Jerusalem, August 30, 1936. Your Excellency, I have the honour to address you on the subject of the visit to Palestine of the Foreign Minister of Iraq and the negotiations conducted by him with Palestine Arab leaders with a view to bringing about the termination of the present crisis. 2. The Executive of the Jewish Agency deeply regrets that Your Excellency has not found it possible to place it in possession of full information as to the nature and purpose of this mission, so vitally affecting the present situation in Palestine, the political future of the country and the interests of the Jewish People which the Jewish Agency has the duty under the Mandate to represent. The Executive regards the fact that it has not been kept informed about such important negotiations, which could only be conducted with the knowledge and concurrence of Government, as constituting disregard of the status which the Mandate accords to the Jewish Agency. 3. Whilst appreciating the desire of the Iraq Government to see friendly and peaceful relations between the Jews and the Arabs of Palestine permanently established, the Jewish Agency nevertheless views with grave concern this unprecedented interference in the internal affairs of Palestine by an official representative of a foreign government. It submits that the existence of a treaty relationship between His Majesty's Government and the Government of Iraq is not sufficient ground for His Majesty's Government conceding to the latter the right to interfere in matters affecting Palestine, which is a country governed under a Mandate. On the other hand, the fact that Iraq is a member of the League of Nations does not give it any special status with regard to the internal affairs of Palestine as compared with other member States of the League. The Jewish Agency considers this intervention of the Iraq Government to be contrary to the whole trend and purpose of the Palestine Mandate and highly detrimental to the interests of the Jewish National Home. It begs, therefore, to lodge a protest against this new departure and to point out the grave and far-reaching consequences which may arise from it. 4. The Palestine Mandate recognises expressly the historic