Frances E. Newton

Frances Emily Newton (4 November 1871 – 11 June 1955) was an English missionary who lived and worked in Palestine from 1889 until 1938, the last 18 years of which saw the country under British rule. She became Dame of Justice of the Venerable Order of Saint John in 1930, and was a member of the Palestine Women's Council, a consultative committee that advised the British, usually to no avail, on matters affecting women and children. The journalist Owen Tweedy described her as, "comely but podgy—tall & masterful and with the hell of a temper and always having rows."

She was a founding member and honorary secretary of the Palestine Information Centre, referred to by the British Arab News Bulletin as the "first office to put the Arab view before the British public." Described by Norman Bentwich, the first Attorney-General of Mandatory Palestine, as "incurably anti-Jewish ... and a principal supporter of the Arab cause," she also founded the Anglo-Arab Friendship Committee in 1946, with the aim of opposing Zionism.

Living on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Newton became known as someone willing to document acts of violence against Arabs suspected of opposing British rule. She found herself in trouble in 1938 after publishing two pamphlets, Punitive Methods in Palestine, which accused the British of atrocities and was denounced in the House of Commons as "all lies," and Searchlight on Palestine; Fair Play or Terrorist Methods, which supported the 1936–1939 Arab revolt. The British issued an exclusion order and she was deported in October 1938. When she died of a heart attack in 1955, a British official said she had, "the exterior of an English woman and the mind of a Palestinian."

Newton first visited Palestine in 1888 to see her stepsisters, Constance and Edith Eleanor. Edith was a missionary with the Church Missionary Society (CMS), and within a year, Newton had signed up with the CMS as a volunteer, learning Arabic and travelling throughout Palestine and Jordan. Her mother died in 1893, leaving Newton sufficient funds to be able to volunteer indefinitely. She was trained in nursing and social work in Birmingham, and in missionary work at The Olives in Hampstead, the CMS training centre. She left for Jaffa on 3 October 1895.

Deportation Newton exclusion order was issued under Regulation 15 of the Emergency Regulations Act, 1936, as amended by Defence (Amendment) regulations (No. 19), 1938. It was appealed in December 1939 but was upheld by the Chief Secretary of Palestine. Newton appealed again, pleading that her exclusion affected her ability to safeguard her business interests in the country, and the order was eventually lifted in September 1943.

Death

Newton died in her sleep of a heart attack in 1955 at home in Flat 8, 9 Wilbraham Place, Chelsea. Her funeral was held at St Simon Zelotes church, Milner Street, Chelsea, followed by cremation at Putney Vale. She left 44,675 pounds and two shillings, a substantial sum at the time, all or most of which went to provide medical services for Palestinian refugees in Jordan.

Works Fifty Years in Palestine. London: Coldharbour Press, Ltd. 1948. Palestine: Britain's honour at stake. 1947.