Evening star., 1948-04-04
The Arub-Jewish Responsibility

The United Nations Security Council
has voted unanimously for an immediate
truce between the Arabs and Jews. In
addition, 1t has voted nine to nothing
with Russia and the Ukraine abstaining-
for special session of the General As
senbly to consider the establishment Of
But it would be sheer wishful thinking to
suppose that either OF these actions-both
advocated by the United States-will auto
matically pacify the Holy Land. No
matter how much one may hope for
the best, the fact remains that the worst
must be expected.
This would not be the case II the Jews
and Arabs would put aside their arms
and their hatreds long enough to sit
down with the u N. in a completely
civilized and level-headed effort to work
out mutually satisfactory settlement.
If they would do that. then the General
Assembly-whi will convene two weeks
from now-could function in an atmos-
phere free from supercharged passions.
And it might then be able to point the
way to a peaceful solution-possibly
through step-by-step process beginning
with temporary trusteeship and moving
forward toward either eventual partition
or new formula for a single federated
state.
But the tragic fact is that there seems
little chance Of effecting a genuine truce.
Judging from present signs. the outlook
Is this: When the Assembly meets, the
United States will press for temporary
trusteeship, the Arabs will keep on de-
manding that all of Palestine be made
independent under their control, and the
Jews, holding fast to partition, will claim
that their separate state already exists
and that they will fight to the death
to defend it. Thus, the enormously COM
plex issue of the Holy Land threatens to
become more complex than ever, and the
violence may grow rather than abate,
menacing the general peace in the stra-
logically crucial Middle East.
Yet, in little more than a month, the
British will give up their mandate. That
means that the Assembly must act
without delay to set up an authority to
preserve law and order The American
proposal for temporary trusteeship-
advanced after OUT. Government backed
away from partition because of the threat
of an Arab war and a Russian move into
the Middle East-is designed to fill the
vacuum for awhile, but 1t can do no
more than that. It can keep the Soviet
Union out Of the Holy Land, but it cannot,
of itself, establish peace there. It raises
critical questions. Who will be the trus-
tee or trustees? Will the main burden fall
on the United States? VIII we be ready
and willing to discharge our responsible
tiles with our own troops and arms? If
not, who will do that part of the job? And
If nobody wants to do it, how will chaos
be avoided?
The answers to these and similar ques-
tions will have to be spelled out in detail
when the General Assembly meets Mean
while, 1t can only be hoped that the
Arabs and Jews will agree to real truce.
The full weight of the United Nations
should be brought to bear on them for
that purpose. After all, their RESPONSE
bility is basic. II they do not bride their
passions and stop their warfare, they will
be demonstrating that man is capable of
almost any madness, and they will be
making peaceful solution altogether i'm
possible. Their accountability on this
score is very great; they should temper
themselves accordingly.