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44
the refugees the choice of returning to
their former homes
in
Israel or grant–
ing compensations for their lost hold–
ings. To the more extreme Arabs it
means the abolition of Israel as a viable
nation and its replacement with a
mixed Arab-Jewish state to be called
Palestine.
Israelis often ask why the Arabs after
23 years have not provided homes and
jobs for the Palestinian refugees within
their borders as Israel has provided for
the
600,000
or so Jewish refugees from
Arab lands. Jt is at tbis point that the
Arabs cease to be merely Arabs. The
Palestinians, they explain, are
Pales–
tiniam.
They are not Syrians, Egyptians,
Lebanese or Jraqis. They therefore can·
not
be
settJed in those countries.
No Arab state has granted the refu–
gees citizenship except for Jordan which
was once part of Palestine. But even in
that nation no effort has been made at
dispersing
a~d
re-settling the refugees
among the native Jordanians.
Israel has said it cannot take in siz–
able numbers of these refugees, many
of whom have been taught to hate the
Israelis over these many years. They fur·
ther point out that almost all the Arab
states (except Egypt and Lebanon) have
far more room for settliog the refugees
than they do.
On the other hand, the Arabs believe
that it is not their responsibility to com–
pensate the Palestiniao refugees - even
though they are Arabs - for lost land
and properties, since it was Israel that
took it from them.
And so after 23 years the frustrated
refugees remain in their camps un–
wanted by either the Israelis or their
fellow Arabs.
Latest Developments
in
the
Middle East
To date no agreement has been
reached. The recent American diplo–
matic attempts at reaching an interim
settlement betweeo Israel and Egypt
to reopen the Suez Canal have pro–
~
ttw,
ii
'lllly,
m~ghu
resu\"ts.
Meanwhile the tenuous cease-fire along
t:he canallingers on.
Egypt's President Sadat has said that
if
an agreement under which Israel
would agree to return all occupied lands
is not reached by the end of this year,
The
PLAIN TRUTH
the Arabs will have no recourse but to
go to war. Sadat apparently is willing
to take this course, he has said, even
if the cost will be a million Egyptians
dead.
In his tough stance he is finding sup·
port from his two more militant part·
ners in the new "Federation of Arab
Republics" - Libya and Syria. Meeting
in Damascus, Syria in August, for tbe
signiog of the constitution of the feder–
ation, Egypt's President Sadat along with
Libya's Colonel Qaddafi and Syria's
General Assad announced a return to
the tough "no negotiations, no con–
cessions of
ocCIIpied
Arab territory and
no sacrifice of the rights of the Pales–
tinians," position.
Israel remains vigilant, although of
late it has been wracked by a series of
internal problems. These include strikes
in vital areas such as hospitals and elec–
tricity. There have been religious and
anti-religious demonstrations and a series
of economic problems induding price
hikes centered around the recent devalu–
ation of the Israelí pound.
W hat
If ...
The realities of the stand-off situation
are forcing many lsraelis to assess the
possibilities of yet another war.
"You must realize," former Air Force
Commander Weizman told us, "that if
a battle starts again between us and the
Arabs, it's going to be a more severe one,
a tougher one, I think a longer one thao
the Six Day War, and it might again
change the looks of the Middle East."
"Severe, tougher, longer," these are
unpleasant words which everyone hopes
never come to pass. The possibility must
however be considered.
The key question not yet discussed is:
where do the great powers lit in? In
truth both Arabs and Israelis would l ike
to be independent of the big powers but
currently find this impossible.
The Arabs feel they must have Soviet
aid to keep pace with the Israelis. The
\-:.nt'!):.
~~ ~
mm't
mrve
w~
assistaoce to keep pace with the Soviet–
supplied Árabs.
There is no question on whose side
Russia is. There is hardly a defensive
weapon ( short of nuclear) - no matter
how sophisticated - with which the
October 1971
Soviets have not provided the Arabs.
Even sorne of the weapons which Russia
has denied North Vietnam have been
added to Egypt's arsenal.
As for the United States, it seems to
vacillate between outright support of
Israel and a more evenhanded, balance–
of-Mideast-power approach.
Then there is the up-and-coming third
world power of a United Europe cur–
rently in the form of the Common Mar–
ket. Western Europe is perhaps more
concemed with the Middle East than
either Russia or the U. S. for two rea–
sons. First, Europe is closer to the Mid–
dle East geographically. But a second
and far more significant factor today is
W estero Europe's dependence on the
Middle East for sorne
80
percent of the
oil that fuels its vast industrial machine.
Soviet meddling in the Mediterranean
aod the Arab states is seen in Western
Europe as a potential grave threat to the
flow of Mideast oil.
The exact position the Common Mar–
ket adopts on the Middle East remains
to be seen. But one thing is certain. The
Europeans cannot afford to remain un–
involved.
Is Peace Possible ?
As war douds hover over the Middle
East and the world
at
large, the ques–
tion must
be
asked, "Can peace come to
the Middle East? Is it even possible ?"
Most people are optimists at heart and
answer the question "yes." It is only the
how
of it that eludes them.
Across the street from the United Na–
tions building in New York the words
of an ancient prophet are inscribed on a
wall : "And they shall beat their swords
into plowshares, and their spears into
pruninghooks: nation shall not Jjft up
sword against nation, neither shall they
learn war any more." The passage is
from the prophet Isaiah.
But the first part of the very same
verse, not quoted, explains why man has
not yet achieved the peace so beautifully
described by the latter part. "And he
shall j uage among lhe nations, ano shall
rebuke many people" (Isa.
2
:4).
The Middie East situation desperateiy
needs someone to judge between Jews
and Arabs - to judge firmly, equitably
and with concern for both. Such a Judge
has yet to arrive on the scene. O