ppressed rebellion, and every living
Arab in the country was sharpening his sword in secret for the
butchering of Zionists at the first opportunity. The seventh man
said that the Palestine Arabs had never under Turkish rule
suffered and groaned as they did under the British, and that
their cry was going up to heaven for relief from the ignominious
tyranny of Zionist pretensions.

Ali Shah al Khassib chose that ringing appeal as the cue for his
next move in the game. He called on Sheikh Abdul Ali, "as well
known in Damascus as in this place," to address the mejlis.

There was instant silence. Even the coffee cups ceased rattling.
Abdul Ali got to his feet with the manner of a man long used to
swaying assemblies. He had just the right air of authority;
exactly the right suggestion of deference; the quiet smile of
the man with secrets up his sleeve; and he paused just long
enough before speaking to whet curiosity and fix attention.

He did not speak floridly or fast, and he indulged in none of
those flights of oratory that most Arabs love. There was ample
time between his sentences for Mahommed ben Hamza to translate
into my wet and itching ear. But every sentence of his speech
had measured weight in it, and every word he used was chosen for
its poison or its sting.

He began by reminding them of the war and of Emir Feisul's share
in it. Of how they, and their fathers, and their sons had fought
behind Feisul and helped to establish him in Damascus. Then he
spoke of the British promise that the Arabs' should have a
kingdom of their own, with Damascus for its capital and borders
to include all the peoples of Arab blood in the Near East. He
paused for a full minute after that. Then:

"But the French are in Syria. The French, who also promised us
an Arab kingdom. They have assembled at the coast an army that
already threatens Emir Feisul. The British are in Palestine,
where they are admitting a horde of Zionist Jews to displace us
Arabs, rightful owners of the soil. The British are also in
Mesopotamia, which they have seized for themselves for the sake
of the oil which Allah, in His wisdom, created beneath the
fertile earth. Feisul makes ready to defend Syria against the
French. But the British will march to the aid of the French.
Can anybody tell me how much of that promise to us Arabs has been
kept, by either nation, French or British?"

So far he was on thoroughly safe ground. A man who preached