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ir hearts' content. For hours Latrun was defended by irregular forces only. Latrun was
the barrier separating the Jewish forces from Jerusalem and westward, from those who
charged up from Hulda; here stood the pumping station which had to provide water for
the Jews of Jerusalem: whoever controlled the station could bring Jerusalem to its knees
through thirst. Here was the crossroads leading to Ramle and Lydda, in one direction,
and to Ramallah, on the other. Glubb Pasha [Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb],
commander of the Arab Legion, had made a firm decision not to allow the Jews to gain
command of this key position, and so the Arab Legion rushed to Latrun.
Jerusalem was now without the British army, the administration, or the High
Commissioner. The latter had left with bitterness and deeply-seated anger towards the
policy-makers sitting in Westminster, London, and with unconcealed criticism of the
heads of the ethnic groups in the Holy Land. Both sides were stubborn and unwilling to
make mutual concessions; each insisted on its own rights. They did not know that life's
wisdom lies in compromise and concession.
H e had expressed his feelings and the hurt concealed in his heart in a parting address
that had been broadcast the previous evening. Now, upon his departure, he could speak to
the people of both communities; he was no longer required to address their leaders, but in
fact he repeated the same messages that he had conveyed to the leaders.
He spoke simply and frankly, knowing well that the thirty years of British rule were but
a brief chapter in the long history of the Holy Land. He opened his address with the
following words:
"Tomorrow at midnight, the final page in the history of Palestine and the British Mandate
in Palestine is turned. On the morrow a new chapter opens and Palestine’s history goes on.
It is not my wish at this period of the British departure to turn back the pages and look
at the past. It would be easy in doing so to say sometimes, 'here we did right', and no
doubt at other times 'there we did wrong.' In this complex matter of the government of
Palestine, the way ahead has not always been clear and the future has often been obscured.
In this respect, we are more than content to accept the judgment of history. Rather would
I wish to say only, if it shall be that by our going we bring eventual good to the people of
Palestine, none of us will cavil at our departure."
He acknowledged the failure of efforts to bring about an agreement between the Jews
and Arabs. However, he – the general – was convinced that a solution to the problem
would not be found in bullets and bombs; these had never brought a solution to any
problem; they brought only suffering.
Therefore he prayed, even at this late hour, that peace would soon come to Palestine;
a peace that flowed from the human heart, for only this vessel could bring about a peace
based on sustainable foundations, on reconciliation and fraternity, and fortified with love
of the other – perhaps also rapprochement with him.
It was in this spirit that he spoke, and he then addressed the problem that had concerned
him in recent weeks more than anything else – the fate of the city of Jerusalem. There
was nothing else that caused him such sorrow or filled his heart with such worry. The
Before the Declaration 161
the barrier separating the Jewish forces from Jerusalem and westward, from those who
charged up from Hulda; here stood the pumping station which had to provide water for
the Jews of Jerusalem: whoever controlled the station could bring Jerusalem to its knees
through thirst. Here was the crossroads leading to Ramle and Lydda, in one direction,
and to Ramallah, on the other. Glubb Pasha [Lieutenant-General Sir John Bagot Glubb],
commander of the Arab Legion, had made a firm decision not to allow the Jews to gain
command of this key position, and so the Arab Legion rushed to Latrun.
Jerusalem was now without the British army, the administration, or the High
Commissioner. The latter had left with bitterness and deeply-seated anger towards the
policy-makers sitting in Westminster, London, and with unconcealed criticism of the
heads of the ethnic groups in the Holy Land. Both sides were stubborn and unwilling to
make mutual concessions; each insisted on its own rights. They did not know that life's
wisdom lies in compromise and concession.
H e had expressed his feelings and the hurt concealed in his heart in a parting address
that had been broadcast the previous evening. Now, upon his departure, he could speak to
the people of both communities; he was no longer required to address their leaders, but in
fact he repeated the same messages that he had conveyed to the leaders.
He spoke simply and frankly, knowing well that the thirty years of British rule were but
a brief chapter in the long history of the Holy Land. He opened his address with the
following words:
"Tomorrow at midnight, the final page in the history of Palestine and the British Mandate
in Palestine is turned. On the morrow a new chapter opens and Palestine’s history goes on.
It is not my wish at this period of the British departure to turn back the pages and look
at the past. It would be easy in doing so to say sometimes, 'here we did right', and no
doubt at other times 'there we did wrong.' In this complex matter of the government of
Palestine, the way ahead has not always been clear and the future has often been obscured.
In this respect, we are more than content to accept the judgment of history. Rather would
I wish to say only, if it shall be that by our going we bring eventual good to the people of
Palestine, none of us will cavil at our departure."
He acknowledged the failure of efforts to bring about an agreement between the Jews
and Arabs. However, he – the general – was convinced that a solution to the problem
would not be found in bullets and bombs; these had never brought a solution to any
problem; they brought only suffering.
Therefore he prayed, even at this late hour, that peace would soon come to Palestine;
a peace that flowed from the human heart, for only this vessel could bring about a peace
based on sustainable foundations, on reconciliation and fraternity, and fortified with love
of the other – perhaps also rapprochement with him.
It was in this spirit that he spoke, and he then addressed the problem that had concerned
him in recent weeks more than anything else – the fate of the city of Jerusalem. There
was nothing else that caused him such sorrow or filled his heart with such worry. The
Before the Declaration 161
