Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1948-02-08
By Leigh White

By Leigh White
TEL-AVIV, Palestine - Much to
the delight of Russia, the whole
structure of American foreign pol
icy is beginning to crumble in the
Middle East.
BY taking leading part, against
the wishes of the Arab League, in
pushing the partition of Palestine
through the United Nations the
United States has aroused the sus-
picion-and thereby the potential
enmity-of every Arab leader of
whatever political complexion.
The United Nations action, in
which Russia sided with the United
States, sets up a Jewish state in the
Holy Land.
Every educated Arab with whom
I have spoken in Iraq, Palestine and
Egypt feels that his people have
been betrayed in the interests of a
Jewish minority in the United
States.
Arab spokesman maintain that
the persecution of the Jews is a
purely western problem that has
nothing to do with the Middle East.
Westerners have no right, they say,
to force fasteners to suffer the
consequences of the westerners' re-
fusal to make room for Jewish
refugees.
Only Million Natives
They insist that only native Jews
have right to concentrate in Pal
estine and that foreign Jews have
no more right to do so than Italians
had a right to occupy Albania or
Ethiopia.
Even if all of the worlds 10000
900 surviving Jews were supporters
Of Zionism-which is not the case
not more than 100000 Jews are
natives of the Middle East.
No Arab ever will be convinced
that decision in favor of 100000,
or even 100000, Jews against the
wishes of 10000 900 Arabs has any
thing to do with the principles OF
Justice which the United States says
1t is defending.
And 1t is important for Americans
to remember that Palestine, to the
Arabs, is an integral part of the
Arab nations. 1t is to the Arab
world roughly what Delaware is to
the United States.
To the Arabs, the forcible estab-
lishment of Jewish state in Pales-
tine is equivalent to an armed inva-
sion OF e the Arab world ANY one
supporting such an armed invasion
will sooner or later be treated as an
enemy
Military Aid Sought
Americans may not know it, but
officials of the Jewish agency are
counting on the United States to
provide them with the weapons
needed to enforce the Palestine de-
cision. In other words, the United
States now is involved in a military
adventure.
The Arabs in turn, by resorting to
force, have made impossible the
peaceful achievement of the Jewish
agercy's maximum aims. If those
aims ever are to be achieved, they
now will only be achieved by force.
The only hope of peaceful settle
ment-ard 1t is waning as the vio-
lence in Palestine increases-is
compromise based on minimum
rather than maximum Jewish aims.
Arab leaders with whom I have
spoken hint that an autonomous
Jewish republic inside a greater
Palestine will be acceptable, even
with increased immigration, pro-
v.ded quota is imposed to insure
that the proportion of Jews to Arabs
is not increased beyond 80 or IS
per cent.
Unless there Is compromise,
American observers feel, there will
almost certainly be holy war,
against Americans as we'll as Jews
holy war that only the Soviet
Union can win.
We Lose Good Will
American policy in the Middle
East has long been based on the
assumption that we could win, and
hold, the respect of the Arab world.
We are losing that respect and
friendship today because of our
stand on Palestine in the United
Nations.
The forcible creation of a new
Judea, in the opinion of our best
informed observers, probably will
make it necessary for the United
States to send troops to many Arab
countries in order to protect our
stake in the oil production of the
Middle East.
Our position would then be that
of an invading power, and the Arabs
would become more and more sus-
ceptible to the offers of Soviet as
sistance that would promptly be
forthcoming. The holy war against
Zionism would gradually be con-
verted into holy war against
"Anglo-American imperialism"
Any benefits Saccruing from the
Marshall Plan in Europe would thus
be more than Offset by the result
ing turbulence throughout the Mid
die East. Greek, Turkish and Iran
ian resistance to the Soviet war of
nerves would be gravely weakened
In consequence, and the Moslem
leaders of Pakistan, already tempt
ed, would be more than ever likely
to make common cause against us
with the Moslem republics of the
y. S. S. r.
ThaSa ere the roo soy,e u,by Anonr.