Evening star., 1945-11-11
Many Problems Crowd
Conference Agendo
Observer Sees Palestine an Issue
In Truman.AttIee Discussion

AOHT6I6HC0 AS6Huu
Observer Sees Palestine an Issue
In Truman-Attlee Discussion
By Raymond MoIey
Speculation to the effect that Messrs.
Truman and Attlee will place major
stress on the atomic bomb In their
American conversations overlooks the
more urgent problems now facing Brit
ain.
Mr.. Attlee also has strikes on his
hands, as well as pressure from his
more radical colleagues for socializa-
ton, dissatisfaction over the slow proc
ess of demobilization, more and more
urgent need for loans, troubles in India,
the Dutch Indies and elsewhere and
the rapidly crystallizing crisis in Pales-
tine and the Middle East. In many Of
these problems American help is greatly
needed. And all of them take preced-
ence over the atomic bomb.
British financial conditions have
steadily deteriorated since the end of
the war. Her food and raw-material
imports formerly based on lend-lease,
are not coming to her in sufficient
quantities. Her creditors are demand-
ing repayment. The two noble lords,
Halifax and Keynes, have now been
talking things over for weeks, and ap-
parently nothing has been settled. The
real reason for this stalemate is fairly
well known. The sentiment over here
against providing funds for socializing
industry in Britain Is sufficiently strong
to have set up real impediment to
agreements. And Lords Halifax and
Keynes are hardly in a position to
provide assurances on that point. Hall
fax is a conservative, and Keynes was
made a lord by the Churchill govern
ment Only the Labor Prime Minister
can provide assurances about British
plans for socialization.
No doubt, Mr. Attlee will be re-
mined that no part of American lease
lend weapons can be used to suppress
trouble in the Dutch East Indies. The
vast British-Dutch economic interests
| in the Netherlands colonies are no real
concern of ours. And there Is no small
| sympathy here for the desires of the
Indonese for some form of self-govern-
| ment.
| Palestine and the Near East come
| closer to our concerns, and In the crisis
there we shall need plenty of advice
from Mr.. Attlee.
He will surely offer a strong defense
| po1a
will probably present in very strong
| terms the grave danger to all western
| nations in the growing nationalism
| among the Arab states, now drawn to-
| getfer in the Arab League. 1t will be
admitted that as British power grows
| less, the Unsuitable Arabs will demand
more and more as their price of peace.
| There are 5000 900 of them in the Near
East and Egypt and millions more in
| the rest of North Africa. They have re-
| ligious ties with the Moslems Of India.
For some years, the British were strong
enough and rich enough to bring them
to agreement on Palestine.
On the basis of the Balfour declara-
ton great sums of Zionist money and
some hundreds of thousands of Jewish
settlers moved into Palestine. But, as
economic conditions improved in Pales-
| tine, Arabs moved in. too. Now there
/ are approximately 100000 Jews and
! 100000 Arabs in Palestine. The Brit
! ish, beginning soon after the establish
ment of the mandate and eliminating
| in the white paper of 1899, restricted
Jewish immigration into Palestine. The
! danger of the Axis is past, but the
| Arab threat remains. AL this is d
claim on the United States for some
sort of participation in further steps.
Mr.. Attlee may make the further point
that to introduce large numbers OF
Jewish refugees will call for the media
tion of the United States.
That mediation, as we well know, will
involve American money. The Arabs.
as I said above. are Unsuitable We
"lend-leased" several pieces OF silver
during the war-18,1 1877 900 fine ounces.
to be exact. Our oil companies pay lush
royalties. AS a consequence, our pres
tige is high. More persuasion of that
kind will be helpful. There are those
who believe that Arab leaders are not
really excited about Jewish power in
Palestine, but find religious prejudice a
good means of stirring up the common
varieties of Arabs and thus Of shaking
loose more British and American gratui-
ties
The Zionist position is that the Brit
ish, by closing the gates of Palestine
before the war, condemned millions of
European Jews to death. They point out
that the number of European Jews who
must be evacuated is from one to one
and-a-half million. Ninety-f1ve per cent
of these want to go to Palestine. They de-
mand that 100000 be Immediately moved
and that the rest should follow. They
claim that Palestine can easily support
two or more million Jews and the Arabs,
too. This claim is supported by the sug-
gestion that Belgium. with about the
same area as Palestine, now supports
S,400,000 people
Mr.. Truman will learn a lot about
this and other vexatious questions before
many weeks are past. He will learn,
incidentally, that there are many items
in foreign policy which his Navy Day
speech did not decide.