King Feisal Declares Himself Ardent Advocate of Arabian Federation Including Palestine

Conflicting statements were issued today to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and to the Manchester Guardian by King Feisal of Iraq just before he left for Italy. While he stated definitely to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he had come to Geneva only in the interests of Iraq, he indicated to the correspondent of the Manchester Guardian that he was a whole-hearted advocate of an Arab federation as the logical means of assuring the political, social and economic future of the Arabian peninsula.

Emphasizing at the beginning of his half hour interview with the Jewish Telegraphic Agency that he regretted that he would be unable to answer all the questions on the political situation that might be asked him, King Feisal discussed Zionism and his own attitude toward the question of Arab-Jewish relations and then issued the following authorized statement:

“I came to Geneva this time only in the interests of my country. During the Peace Conference I represented my father and due to this position came into contact with the delegates of all nations, meeting also several Zionist leaders. At that time I had several interviews with Dr. Chaim Weizmann and exchanged letters with him which were of a purely personal nature. At that time I wanted to find means of arriving at a rapprochement but events prevented a continuation of these efforts. Since then, as I understand, Zionist policy has undergone a change after the Peace Conference.”

Asked about the letter which he wrote to Professor Felix Frankfurter of the Harvard Law School, King Feisal said, “I exchanged letters with many people but I cannot recall such a letter.” In this letter King Feisal spoke of the Arabs and Jews as cousins and pointed out that the Arabs looked with favor on the Zionist movement. He also said that the Arabs welcomed the Jews “back home” and noted that the Arab Nationalist movement could not succeed without the Zionist movement and vice versa.

To the Manchester Guardian, the King said, “There is nothing new in the desire to establish a Pan-Arab federation including Palestine, Syria, Hedjaz and Transjordania under Arabian hegomony. This ideal, which is the hope of the Arab people, was recognized by the entire world at the Peace Conference and officially pledged by Sir Henry MacMahon. Without this political, cultural and economic unity the Arabs remain helpless to defend their interests against their enemies. A unified Arabia can play an important role in the development of the Near East and also in the preservation of world peace.”