Evening star., 1947-10-19

these under continued foreign i'm
perialism, nor can we obtain them
under communism. The Arab world
will never accept communism and
Russia knows this"
Palestine Conquest Futile
Azzam considers the Palestine Is
sue an unhappy one but only a di-
version in the broad pattern of
Arab renaissance.
There are q million Jews living
In Arab countries outside of Pales-
tine. They have had no interfer-
ence with their lives. The Jews may
have sufficient strength to take over
Palestine or part of it by force but
if they should 1t would be only a
hridgehead surrounded by an Arab
world at war. 1t would be impos-
sible without foreign intervention. /"
Behind Azzam Pasha an inter-
esting array Of personalities moves
IN and out of the higher councils
Of Arab Nationalist policy making.
Elder statesman and probably
most influential of all is aging Abdul
Azziz Ibn Saud, a real desert chief
tain who won his kingdom by
strength OF arm and personal brav-
cry IN conflict. A member of the
Wahabi sect, strictest of the Islamic
faith, and guardian of the holy
cities of Mecca and Medina, Ibn
Saud's word carries greatest weight
not only on the Arabian Peninsula
but among all the Moslems of the
Middle East. Development by
American interests of the Arabian n
oil reserves also has brought to the
saudi government a new and DO
tentially great economic weapon,
A Threat to League Unity
Two sons sit close beside Ibn
Saud in the formulation and ex-
pression of his policies. First is
the Crown Prince Saud, trained In
recent years in the internal ad-
mlnlstration of the kingdom and
with particular emphasis on the
conservative tenets of the Moslem
religion. Second, is Ernir Faisal
Foreign Minister, and Saudi dele
gate to the United Nations, through
whom the voice of his father is
most often heard in world politics
Among the Arabic elders also is
King Abdullah of Trans-Jordan, but
a long family enimity between the
Sauds and the Husseins of Abdul
Ian contains the present threat
to Arab League unity. Briefly. the
enmity has its modern origin in
the military defeat of the Hus-
semi by the Sauds in the late 192Os.
when Ibn Saud wrested from the
father of Abdullah the kingdom of
HeJaz and the guardianship of the
holy cities.
Present manifestation of the en-
nifty centers around the Greater
Syria plan, an old dream of the
Hussein family for uniting much of
Syria, Lebanon, Palestine and
Trans-Jordan into a single coun-
try or federation.
Saudi reaction to the proposal
has been swift and unqualified in
public expression of "indiens-
ton at a suggestion which it
termed openly contradictory to the
covenant of the Arab League and
the United Nations Charter.
THE Saudi Arabian government
regrets the existence of apparent
discord among Arabs at this criti-
cal time when it was hoped that
all forces of the Arab states would
be concentrated in saving the
1notherland instead of attempting
to tear asunder its unity of pur.
pose
All other Arab League states. ex-
cept 1raq, which is ruled ~ a
nephew of Abdullah, have taken
similar strong positions in opposi-
ton to the Greater Syria plan, bu.
the potentialities for continuing
dissension within the league still
exist. Tomorrow the first parla-
inentary election in the history OF
Trans-Jordan will take place and
the course Of popular voting in
the country may be reflection of
sentiment toward the Greater Syria
issue.
First Election Tomorrow
To return to the individuals high
in Arab Nationalist councils, recog-
milton must be accorded to such
veterans as Shukri .Bey Kuwatley,
President of Syria, and Hal Amin
Ell Husseini, exiled Grand Mufti of
Jerusalem. The former still bears
the scars of Turkish persecution
suffered in the pan-Arab cause
during World War I and has three
times been condemned to death by
French authorities for his resist
ance to French rule in Syria. The
(See HENRY, Page C-53