03 Dec 1935 - King David Hotel, Jerusalem

[Diarist]

In Jerusalem we received rooms in the King David Hotel which is the site of the central offices of the British Mandatory authorities of Palestine, principally the Secretariat of the Government of Palestine and the Headquarters of the British Armed Forces in Palestine and Transjordan. After a change of clothes I met with General Wauchope in his main office, Orde and Thomas joined me. A/Cdre Pierse was also present. We exchanged pleasantries then I explained that I'm in Palestine on a fact-finding mission and I need to clarify a few things.
"Secretary Churchill has sent me here to find out what the hell is going on and report back with options on how fix this mess. It doesn't look too promising but I'm going to give it a shot. First, the Foreign Office has no knowledge of my mission here and that will remain so, understood?" General Wauchope nodded. Pierse too. "The chain of command is through COHQ in Alexandria, MAJ Wingate. You may still receive instructions from other authorities in London. If so, politely acknowledge them and if there is any conflict with our orders inform MAJ Wingate. We'll sort it out in London. COHQ needs an office here so that you don't need to use the telephone or telegraph. In fact never mention anything about us on the phone. It is not secure. Any questions?"
"What if it is Anthony Eden personally on the phone?" General Wauchope asked.
"Politely remind him that you can't discuss anything sensitive on the telephone, they're insecure. Refer him to me if he gets too persistent. I understand that you are, may I say pro-Jewish?"
"That would be correct," he replied.
"I will be meeting members of the Jewish community tomorrow morning and hope to convince the Irgun of the need for a moratorium. Defend themselves, yes but no attacks. They are counter-productive. I am hoping for a 6 month moratorium and during this time a proposal will be presented to all sides."
"So this is a MoD initiative?"
"Yes. The Foreign Office have had their chance and in my opinion they have only made matters worse. I don't want our armed forces caught in the middle of a conflict here. Diplomacy has failed in this part of the world. I want to look for practical solutions, not diplomatic ones. General, I will be travelling to Amman from here to speak with Emir Abdullah and listen to his arguments. Orde, move your HQ to Jerusalem and let Thomas run things in Alexandria. Any problems with that?"
"No, Bob. I'd prefer to be here."
"Good, so that's settled. Do you know the commanders of the army battalions here?"
"Yes."
"Then invite them for a drink this evening. They are my guests. Anything else, gentlemen? Were there any problems with General Weir?"
"Everything is fine, thank you."
"General, will you be available for a late lunch tomorrow before I leave for Amman? Just the two of us."
"Of course."
"Then good evening, gentlemen. The Grand Mufti is meeting me here, correct?"
"Yes. My adjutant will show you where."
Time to practice my Arabic and think of a couple of appropriate quotes from the Quran.

[Diarist]

The Grand Mufti of Jerusalem Mohammed Amin al-Husseini was already waiting in a small lounge when I entered with Orde Wingate. I introduced myself in Arabic, exchanged a dozen greetings then introduced MAJ Orde Wingate as my representative in Jerusalem. He didn't introduce me to his companions so I gestured that we be seated. I then explained my job in London and the reason for my being in Palestine. "You have been recommended to me as the best person to talk to in the Arab community. I believe that the increased Jewish immigration is the largest concern in Palestine, Your Excellence."
"It is one of many grievances, Sir Robert, but it is aggravating the already tense situation greatly."
"You need to thank Adolf Hitler for causing that problem. His anti-Jewish policies in Germany are causing tens of thousands of Jews to leave and they want to come to Palestine. Unfortunately Britain and Germany don't enjoy the best relations at the moment but maybe when you next meet Hans Döhle, Hitler's representative in Palestine, you could ask him to convey your grievances. What are your other main concerns? The economic situation?"
"You know the problems as well as I do. I'm sure you are well informed so can we stop playing games?"
"Good. Why do you believe that para-military operations can solve the problems?"
"They show our frustration and anger at the lack of progress."
"So the Jews and British forces use violence too. That get's us nowhere. I want a six month moratorium on all attacks by both Arab and Jewish organizations. Could you use your influence to achieve that if I convince the Irgun to do the same?"
"I've heard this too many times before and nothing has ever been achieved."
"You haven't really tried. Things have changed in London. You may have noticed that we are not diplomats from the Foreign Office."
"Military threats don't impress me."
"I'm not threatening anyone. I'm hoping you recognize there has been a change and that you give us an opportunity to help resolve the issues because the alternative would be less pleasant than the current situation."
"The threats are back."
"No, they are not. I'm trying to impress upon you that violence will achieve nothing. It would only make an already bad situation a lot worse."
"Then you would have an excuse to support the Jews against the Arab community."
"You haven't been listening. I want to end the violence, for six months, then hopefully extend the moratorium if progress is made but more time is needed. They only way we would appear to support the Jews is if they accept the moratorium and observe it but the Arab organizations don't and continue their attacks. That would be opposing the Arab organizations, not supporting the Jews. They would still have to observe the moratorium. Now again, would you help me organize a moratorium? What do you have to lose?"
"What are you offering?"
"To get the same from the Jewish community. If the guns are quiet we can then talk about other things. Jewish immigration won't be easy because there are much more German Jews going to western Europe, Britain included, than there are arriving here in Palestine. Hitler is the problem in Europe."
"Germany is setting a good example of how to deal with the Jewish problem."
"Wrong and if you try those policies here we shall definitely be on a collision course. That's not a threat either. Just free friendly advice. Those German anti-Jewish policies could be used as the basis of British anti-Arab policies in Palestine. You should be careful not to praise Hitler in our presence. Just friendly advice. Tomorrow I shall be meeting Jewish representatives before travelling to Amman to meet with Emir Abdullah. I can return to Jerusalem in a few day before returning to Europe if you wish to meet. Please confer with your colleagues. I wish you a good evening." I stood up then left the room with Orde in tow.
"Hopefully he'll get nowhere and we'll end up supporting the Jews against his friends. He's just put himself on the 'surplus to requirements' list if you know what I mean."
"I get the message."
"You check to see if the colonels are here. I want to see if Sally had any success with the German bloke."

[Diarist]

Sally had been successful. Hans Döhle, the German Representative in the Palestinian Mandate, was sitting with her at a table. "Guten Abend, Herr Döhle," I said as I joined my wife. "I see you have met my wife."
"A very charming lady and speaks excellent German."
"She hasn't told you that she is from Berlin? You've been hiding your Berlin dialect again, darling."
"That explains everything."
"Not quite. Her father used to teach at the Humboldt University in Berlin but because of the increasing animosity towards Jews he decided to try his luck in England. He now teaches European History at King's College in London. Just imagine, if it weren't for Hitler's anti-Jewish policies I would never had met the lady of my dreams. I never thought that I would be grateful to Adolf Hitler."
"We live in a strange world," Döhle replied feeling obviously uncomfortable.
"Is your family here, Herr Döhle?"
"My wife is here."
"Since I owe the Führer a favour, I'm informing you that your life is in danger. There is a plot to kill you because of your close contacts with the anti-Zionist groups here. You need to pack your bags and get out of Palestine. We are now quit."
"Wait. How do I know you are not lying to me?"
"You won't until it is too late and if they use a bomb your wife may be killed too. You can call Berlin and ask for instructions but if they tell you to stay here then you have a problem. You can't go home and if you stay here you are dead. That sounds like someone who would desperately be in need of a friend." I got up to leave.
"You are lying to me."
"Call Berlin and ask for instructions."
We left the table and joined Orde and the colonels. It didn't take long for Döhle to leave. After introductions I took Orde to one side and told him in Arabic what I'd done. "If he comes back looking in our direction we may have recruited a German who can tell us all about their plans for Palestine."
"You've just ruined that poor sod's evening."
We had a chat about using the captured equipment, their mission, then about the situation in Palestine. Later A/Cdre Pierse joined us. Just before Sally and I were about to leave I noticed that Döhle was sitting at the bar. I whispered to Orde that someone may be looking for friend. Orde went to the bar while Sally and I left for our room.