Page 258 - ISRAEL'S CRADLE
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[the Arabs of the Land of Israel] would under no circumstances agree to use the scissors [to partition the land as per the "Peel Commission" proposal], primarily since half the fabric shall serve to lengthen the cloak of the Ammonite [the Emir Abdullah]. The dear servant and son of joy [Abdulaziz Ibn Saud, king of Saudi Arabia], the hero of the strong arm [Armstrong's book] would strongly oppose this. The two kingdoms of the devil [Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy] promised his brother support in his war against us. And obviously we should not exploit the distress of the clerk's masters [the British Government]. The counsel given from the mouth of wisdom – declare that our home already stands [i.e. that the national home is already established]. If they do not rule according to his brethren's opinion, the Chaldeans [the Iraqis] shall turn away from the masters of the clerk. Despite his involvement in the matter, the entire matter is of no consequence to him. He has no interest therein. But he does know that the Chaldeans will rage and that he must take that into account and perhaps our brethren who sit at his gates [the Jews of Baghdad] might also be harmed. Indeed, he has held those in the center and warned the hot-heads that he will not suffer any foolishness. The clerk adds that the recent disruptions between the seven pillars of wisdom [the Iraqi Government] cast doubt as to its strength and courage to overcome those who rise up against it.
And there are more tidings: The beautiful one [Jamal al-Husayni] informed his uncle [the Mufti, Hajj Amin] that the book [the report of the royal commission, the "Peel Commission"] is signed, however it is clear to him that the newspapers' stories on the meaning of Solomon's judgment [the partition] are far from the truth. In any event, he knows that in the circles of the troopers [the British Army] that are now suborned to one of ours [the Jewish Leslie Hore-Belisha, Secretary of State for War] see the solution in ending the invasion and holding of land [the Aliya and settlement] and in an agreement with the [Arab] majority which would include guarantees for the existing [Jewish] minority. There is much resourcefulness on the part of the many assistants. The hero of the strong arm and several members of the ruling church [the government] are particularly well remembered. All the members of the committee of six [the Peel Commission], the assembly in the tenth house [10 Downing Street, the residence of the British Prime Minister], the people of the balcony over the river [members of parliament], the public in general and our own heads [the Zionist leaders] know full well that their [the Arabs'] position to the proposed solution is an absolute no.
Moshe
"The Strong Man" Comes to Rehavia
On September 18, 1939, a new "tenant" entered the gates of the National Institutions Building on the outskirts of the Rehavia Neighborhood: Pinhas Rutenberg. "The Old Man of Naharayim", Director of the Electric Company and the man who "electrified" the Land of Israel, found himself – and not for the first time – at the head of the Jewish Yishuv, in an unusual position for him: A political leader.
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