Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-08-09
BRIGHT AND DIM

49, 49," $780," - ~ - NAAAA
OF August 5. entitled. Israel
Must Accept Arab Sphere"
She begins by charging
that Zionist propaganda"
has colored and distorted all
discussion Of the Arab-Israeli
problem. IL Is unfortunate
that she didn't include In her
article any Of the publica-
lions OF the American Friends
Of the Middle East. Distor-
ton is an inadequate term 70
apply 10 these gems Of prop
uganda which seem 10 par
rot Cairo Radio more than
distinguished Middle East
scholars" as Miss Thomp-
son would have II. ! am
thankful that Zionist litera-
ture exists 10 counteract In
some measure the public de-
ception which the AFME has
undertaken.
Hypocritically she says 1t
is time Israel realized that
Arab interests are also her
best interests: that what is
good for the Arabs is good
for Israel" I suggest she re-
word the statement to,
what is good for Israel is
good for the Arabs" Exam
Piles Of things which are
good for Israel" are political
equality Of all peoples, decent
education for all. bodily
health through medical re-
search and public health
programs. and. freedom of
thought and Of religion, all
Of which are enjoyed by the
Arabs living in Israel. and all
Of which no Arab, except
perhaps in Lebanon, enjoys.
Israel has been willing and
anxious to sit down with the
Arabs and talk not only
peace. but about technical.
medical and educational as
sistance to the Arab peoples.
Israel has realized that it can
not easily survive without
peace and Identification"
(whatever Miss Thompson
means by that with the
Arab peoples. Unfortunately,
many Of the Arab leaders, as
well as the AFME, realize
this, and hence are refusing
TO lose their oriental faces"
ana sit down and talk peace
NaSser wants no identified
ton" Of Israel with him. Mas
ser wants no Israel. For if
Egyptian living standards
were raised through Israeli
technology. the Arab peoples
might begin to see through
the Nasser hoax. under which
he mortgages his country to
Russia-not to help his own
peoples to a decent life (you
can't eat bullets) but to fan
their sincere desires for a
united Arab state into a
frenzied hate for a country
which can least afford and
which has no desire to fight.
BY diverting the emotional
Arab mind into a hate for
the dangerous imperialist
power" Israel, he helps the
Arab forget that most of the
year he is hungry. disease
ridden. illiterate and without
any political say in his gov
eminent.
Edward S. Marks.
+
Dorothy Thompson's knowl-
edge of history and her
judgment in politics and
statecraft, not to neglect her
sense of justice and fair play,
are celebrated. Her diatribes
against Israel in the column
she writes for your paper are
irrefutable evidence of her
high moral sense. The way
in which she gerrymanders
facts and creates them when
it suits her purpose is proof
of her sound historical
scholarship.
She wrote an article for
one Of our national maya
zines late in 1892, when Ger
many. a dying republic, was
in political commissions, torn
between the Nazis and the
Communists. She had just
interviewed Hitler. and on
the strength of her keen
understanding of character
and her profound knowledge
Of history, averred that the
uncouth little man, who
spoke in ceaseless TRADES,
would never be accepted by
the Germans, never come to
power. We know how accu-
rately her prediction was full
filled within a few months
after the article appeared.
DIR. L. NJ. Court.
\ 4
Whether or not Dorothy
Thompson in her columns on
the Middle East crisis is emo
tional. as some of her critics
allege. she is doing a public
service by provoking the pub
lies interest. But it seems
strangely incongruous that so
much excitement should be
generated over a foreign state.
If our pro-Zionist friends
would outline a long-range
United States policy in the
Middle East with the same
zeal with which they jumped
to the defense of Israel. our
prospects would be brighter
in that region.
1t could be that Miss
Thompson is too emotional;
maybe she is even anti-Israel
and pro-Arab as some have
claimed. And she may not
be. Whatever the case, we
should not allow our atten-
ton to be diverted from the
important message she is try
ing to impart. She has very