Evening star., 1943-09-05
Palestine
Continued From Page BID

date, and the conferences came to no
good end
In 1889, the Chamberlain government
issued the Macdonald white paper, pro-
viding for the admission of 10000 Jews
a year for the ensuing five years, but
because of the plight of the refugees
from Europe. permitted bonus" i'm
migration of 25,000 making total of
$4,000.
Thus, by next March, there will be no
| further Jewish immigration to Palestine,
| as the matter now stands.
Besides the wide divergence Of jewish
Arab claims on Palestine, there are opin-
ions too numerous to quote on each side.
Problem Must Be Studied.
Recent reports from the Near East said
the problem was becoming of greater inn
| portance to the United Nations which
now must face the question of the initial
application of the Atlantic Charter or
discuss how it might be applied. It was
predicted that If the situation were
ignored by the United Nations, terrible
bloodshed would follow.
The reports went on to disclose that
certain factions of Jews and Arabs were
secretly arming. 1t was estimated that
the Arabs had hidden thousands Of rifles,
machine guns and grenades and large
supplies OF ammunition. The Jews also
had gathered rifles, larger weapons and
ammunition. The training Of guerrillas
also was going on secretly
Some Zionists believe that room can
be made for 1000, 900 jews in addition
to the $4,000 already settled. They look
to Palestine as the principal refuge for
the prosecuted and homeless Jews of
Europe and feel that their financial and
business ability can develop the land
sufficiently to support even as many rs
100000 more refugees.
1t is claimed by non-Zionists, how
ever, that Palestine is not large enough
to absorb any more refugees, being only
about the size of Vermont or New
Hampshire, or about 10000 square miles.
The zionists refer to the Palestine
Royal Commission report of 1887, that
the Arabs G,000,000 OF them) could be
exchanged or transferred if the country
is partitioned. But the answer to that
from an Arab point of view Is that 1.-THE
cure for the eviction of Jews from Ger
many is not to be sought in the eviction
of the Arabs from their homeland
Differing Viewpoint.
DR.. Charles E. Shulman, rabbi of
Glencoe, ILL.,, serving as chaplain in the
! United States Navy, notes that western
democracies have given refuge to only
small number of dispossessed Jews and
that in the postwar period most coun-
| tries will restrict immigration in order to
make their own domestic adjustments,
thus making Palestine "a necessity for
| the Jews
On the other hand, Jabir Shibli, Chris
| tian native of Lebanon (Syria), who has
| long been professor of mathematics at
Pennsylvania State College, contends the
| Arabs have lived in Palestine for 5000
| years and that they have natural rights
| Of possession; that it is no more holy
| land for Jews than for Moslems or
| Christians.
He goes on to point out that zionists
emphasize their agricultural abilities,
whereas, he adds, the land they claim
to have redeemed is that of well
developed farms from which they dis
| lodged Arab farmers" He explains
| further that less than one-fifth of the
| Jews live on farms, while two-thirds of
the Arabs are engaged in agriculture.
| King Ibn Saud was recently quoted as
| saying that he knew nothing to justify
| the Jewish claims in Palestine. He ex-
| planned that centuries before the ad-
vent of Mohammed, Palestine belonged
| to the Jews. But the Romans prevailed
over them, killed some and dispersed the
rest. No trace of their rule remained"
The King went on to record that the
Arabs seized Palestine from the Romans
more than 300 years ago, "and it has
| remained ever since in the possession of
the Moslems." He held Jewish occupa-
tion of Palestine to be IAN error; first
because it constitutes an injustice against
and secondly because it causes dissen-
sions and disturbances between the
Moslems and their friends, the Allies"
| DIR. Wise Replies.
reply was made to the King by Dr.
Stephen S. Wise, one Of the founders
of Zionism in America, who pointed out
that passages in the Books of Moses,
Judges, Samuel, Kings and Chronicles,
In the Psalms and in the major and
minor prophets, repeat the promise of
the Jewish homeland
He said the testimony of travellers re-
veal ''the bond between these Jews and
the land they have so laboriously re-
created He added that "the solution
of the Jewish problem everywhere Is
organically bound up with the re-
creation of the Jewish homeland in
Palestine"
A non-Zionist viewpoint, as expressed
by Lessing J. Rosenwald. Is that the
I Palestine question will hardly be settled
y