Filed with Sources, Books & Media (MOC) · Related: 60.1 Israel-Palestine · Key Arguments (MOC)
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arily a life se n te n c e . T h e u n iq u e m isfo rtu n e of th e P a le stin ia n r e fu gees is th a t th e y a re a w e a p o n in w h a t seem s to be a p e r m a n e n t w a r. A la rm in g signs, fro m E g y p t, w a rn us th a t th e P a le s tin ia n refu g ees m a y d ev elo p in to m o re th a n a ju s tific a tio n for co ld w a r a g a in st Israel. W e ig n o re d Mein Kambf in its d a y , as th e ra v in g s of a lu n a tic , w ritte n for lim ite d h o m e c o n su m p tio n . W e o u g h t to h a v e le a rn e d n e v e r to ig n o re d ic ta to rs o r th e ir books. Egypt’s Liberation, by G a m a l A b d e l N asser, d eserv es c a re fu l no tice. It is sh o rt, lo w -k ey ed , a n d tells us o n ce a g a in th a t a n a tio n h a s b een o rd a in e d b y fate to le a d — th is tim e , to le a d th e A ra b n a tio n s , all A frica, all Isla m . T h e P a le s tin ia n refu g ees a re n o t m e n tio n e d , a n d to d a y , in th e M id d le E ast, y ou g e t a re p e a te d sin k in g se n sa tio n a b o u t th e P a le stin ia n refugees: th e y a re o n ly a b e g in n in g , n o t an e n d . T h e ir fu n c tio n is to h a n g a ro u n d a n d b e c o n s ta n tly useful as a g o a d . T h e u ltim a te a im is n o t su ch h u m a n e sm all p o ta to e s as r e p a tr ia tin g refugees. _Lhe w o rd “ re fu g e e ” i
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p le fo r elev en y e a rs. I n th e c o u rs e o f its p a r e n t h o o d U N R W A h a s s p e n t a b o u t $360 m illio n o n th e A r a b refugees, th is m o n e y h a v in g b e e n c o n tr ib u te d b y m e m b e rs of th e U n ite d N a tio n s , w ith sm a lle r b u t lo v in g d o n a tio n s fro m p r iv a te c h a r i ta b le o rg a n iz a tio n s as w ell. O f th e to ta l th e U n ite d S ta te s p ro v id e d m o re th a n $238 m illio n , G r e a t B rita in o v e r $65 m illio n — b u t s p re a d a cro ss th e y e a rs a n d in v a ry in g a m o u n ts , six ty -o n e sta te s, in c lu d in g Isra e l a n d th e H o ly S ee, h a v e h e lp e d 46THE ARABS OF PALESTINEw ith
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e lp e d46THE ARABS OF PALESTINE w ith c a s h . T h e S o v ie t U n io n h a s n e v e r p a id o n e c e n t. T h is is a tin y n o te o f m a lic e : A r a b refu g ees o ften e x p re ss te n d e r e m o tio n s fo r th e S o v ie t U n io n , w h e re a s m o st of th e v illa g e o r a to r s b la m e th e U n ite d S ta te s a n d E n g la n d , o r t h a t b o g e y , “ W e s te rn I m p e r ia lis m ,” fo r th e ir exile. In th e so -c a lle d “ h
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e. Yes, yes, said my guide, the refugees have a higher birth rate than any other Arabs, and healthier children. Refugees receive a monthly basi
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th e c a m p le a d e r, I listened to th e first of w h a t b e c a m e a n a lm o st daily M a d H a tte r c o n v e rsa tio n .I t w e n t like this:“ T h e A ra b c o u n trie s in v a d e d Israel in 1948 to save th e P alestin e A rab s from b ein g m assacred by th e J e w s .”“ W ere th e re m assacres? W h e re ? ”“ O h , yes, ev ery w h ere. T e rrib le , te rrib le .”“ T h e n you m u st h av e lost m a n y relatives an d frie n d s.”T h is, b e in g a tiresom e d e d u c tio n from a p r e vious s ta te m e n t, is b ru sh e d aside w ith o u t c o m m e n t.“ Israel o v e rra n the tru c e lines a n d stole o u r c o u n try . W e left from fear. W e h av e a r ig h t to o u r p ro p e rty , w h ich b rin g s in 47 m illion p o u n d s a y e a r in in c o m e . If w e h a d o u r ow n m oney, w e w o u ld n eed n o th in g fro m U N R W A . O u r ow n m o n e y is m u c h m ore. W e d o n o t h av e to be g ra te fu l for th e little m o n e y sp e n t o n us. W e sh o u ld h av e o u r o w n .”“ T h e n , of co u rse, you w a n t to re tu rn to y o u r p ro p e rty an d to Israel?”“Not to Israel. N ever to Israel. T o o u r ow n c o u n try , to o u r o w n p a r t.”“ B u t d id n ’t th e Jew s a c c e p t P a rtitio n , w hile th e P alestin e A ra b s a n d th e A ra b g o v ern m en ts refu sed ?”“ Yes, yes. A n d E n g lan d p ro te c te d th e Jew s. A n A ra b w as a rre ste d if h e c a rrie d a pistol o n ly to d efen d him self, b u t Je w s co u ld go th ro u g h the streets in ta n k s a n d n o th in g h a p p e n e d to th e m . A lso, E n g la n d to ld th e A ra b states to a tta c k Is ra e l.” T h e p rin c ip a l of the
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ates to a tta c k Is ra e l.” T h e p rin c ip a l of the school th e n spoke u p . “ In o u r school, w e te a c h th e c h ild re n from th e ir first y e a r a b o u t th e ir c o u n try a n d how it w as stolen fro n t th e m . I tell m y son o f seven. Y ou w ill see: o n e d a y a m a n of eig h ty a n d a ch ild so h ig h , all, all w ill go h o m e w ith a rm s in th e ir h a n d s a n d take b a c k th e ir c o u n try by fo rc e .” O n this w a rlik e note,
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ays, please, will you help her?” Speaking French to the UNRWA official, because no one else there knew the language, I said, “She can easily have five or six more children like this. It is terrible for her. The visiting nurse ought to explain about birth control.”“You don’t know’ what you’re saying. UNRWA could not touch such a thing, not even mention it. Here are these people, and the name of their country does not exist on the map any more. If we start teaching them birth control, we will be accused of trying to wipe out the people too. Besides, the men would never allow it. They want to have a lot of sons; it is a matter of pride with them. And politics enters too, as into everything; I’ve heard them say it. We need to have many children and grow and increase so that the world will never forget us.” “They’re doing well, from what I
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of some sort; otherwise, on 1500 calories a day , they would soon become and loo
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into a silver- spoon family. Out of the blue, my guide announced: “ There is no crime in the camps. No thefts, no fires, no blood feuds. It is much better than it was in Palestine. They know they are all brothers in refuge. There were a few murders some time ago; someone raping, something like that, ft is natural. But no crime.”And this is true. In all the camps. Exile has taught one valuable lesson: how to live peacefully and lawfully together. _Lo enter the Gaza Strip you re
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e d for as th e refugees. T h e G a z a S tr ip is n o t a hell hole, n o t a visible d isa ster. I t is w o rse ; it is a ja il — w ith a m a g ic a l long w h ite sa n d b e a c h , a n d a b reeze, a n d d e v o te d w elfare w o rk e rs ( U N R W A ) to look a fte r th e p riso n e rs .T h e E g y p tia n g o v e
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k a fte r th e p riso n e rs. T h e E g y p tia n g o v e r n m e n t is th e ja ile r . F or r e a sons o f its o w n , it d o es n o t a llo w th e refugees to m o v e fro m th is n a r r o w s tr ip o f la n d . T h e refugees m ig h t n o t w a n t to le a v e a t all, o r th e y m ig h t n o t w a n t to le a v e for g o o d ; b u t a n y o n e w o u ld b ec o m e c la u s tro p h o b ic if p e n n e d , fo r th ir te e n y e a rs, in sid e 248 s q u a re k ilo m e te rs . A tric k le o f refugees,
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u n k n o w n m e th o d s. T h e se lo c k e d -in p e o p le — fa r too m a n y in fa r to o little sp a c e — c a n n o t find a d e q u a te w o rk . N a tu r a lly , th e r e is less c h a n c e of e m p lo y m e n t th a n in th e o th e r “ h o st c o u n trie s .” M e a n tim e , th e y a re e xposed to th e full a n d c o n s ta n t blast of E g y p tia n p r o p a g a n d a . N o w o n d e r t h a t G a z a w as th e h o m e base o f th e tr a in e d p a r a m ilita r y b a n d s c a lle d c o m m a n d o s b y th e E g y p tia n s a n d P a le stin ia n s, a n d g a n g ste rs by th e Isra e lis — th e fedajin, w hose jo b w as to cross u n n o tic e d in to Isra e l a n d c o m m it a c ts o f p a trio tic sa b o ta g e a n d m u r d e r . A n d h a v in g b e e n so d e v a s ta tin g ly b e a te n by Isra e l a g a in , in 1956, h a s n o t im p ro v e d th e tr a p p e d , b itte r G a z a m e n ta lity ; it o n ly m ak es th e o ra to rs m o re b lo o d th irs ty . Ajl.n other M a d H a t t e r
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irs a n d d e sc e n d a n ts. “ T h e Je w s a re c r im in a ls ,” th e c a m p le a d e r c o n tin u e d in a risin g voice. “ M u r d e r e r s ! T h e y a r e th e w o rst c rim in a ls in th e w h o le w o r ld .”H a d he e v e r h e a r d o f H itle r?H e b a n g e d his ta b le a n d sa id , “ H itle r w as fa r b e tte r th a n th e J e w s ! ”“ F a r b e tte r m u r d e r e r ? H e k ille d six m illio n J e w s as a s t a r t ,” I o b se rv e d .“ O h , t h a t is all e x a g g e r a te d . H e d id n o t. B esides, th e Je w s b lu ffe d H itle r . T h e y a r r a n g e d in se c re t t h a t h e sh o u ld kill a few o f th e m — old o n es, w e a k o n es — to m a k e th e o th e rs e m ig r a te to P a le s tin e .” “ T h irty -s ix th o u s a n
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vice y o u th tra n s la te d . “ I t is th e b la m e of A m e ric a th a t th is h a p p e n e d , b e c a u se th e y h e lp the Je w s. W e o n ly w a n t A m e rica to h e lp us to g et b a c k to o u r la n d .”“ H ow ?” I asked. “ By w a r? ”“ W h e n th e A rab s a re u n ite d , w e w ill m a k e th e w a r .”“ W h a t d o you w a n t fro m us th e n ? A rm s to m a k e this w a r w ith ?”“ N o, w e w a n t you to stop g iv in g a rm s a n d m o n e y to Israel. Ju s t n ow K e n n e d y h as given Israel $25 m illio n for a rm s .”“ I d o n o t believe th a t th e U .S . g o v e rn m e n t h a s ever given o r sold a rm s to Isra e l. W h a t a b o u t th e a rm s N asser gets from R ussia a n d C zech o slo v ak ia?”“ T h a t is all rig h t. T h a t is d iffe re n t. T h e y a re p eace-lo v in g n atio n s. T h e y only w a n t to h e lp th e u n d e v e lo p e d c o u n trie s.”T h e S ecret Service m a n p u t in : “ A m e ric a offered us a rm s, b u t w ith co n d itio n s. W e w ill n o t a c c e p t c o n d itio n s. So w e tak e fro m th e E a ste rn c o u n trie s, w ho give w ith o u t c o n d itio n s.”“ W h a t d o you do?” I asked th e fat y o u n g h u s b a n d .“ N o th in g .”“ W h a t w o u ld you like to d o ?”“ Be a so ld ier a n d fight Je w s.”T h is o ra to ry pleased th e p u b lic v ery m u c h . “ D o y o u all like N asser?” I asked, p o litely . W id e sm iles. G e n e ra l jo y .“ W e d o . C e rta in ly . O h , of co u rse. H e w ill u n ite us an d m a k e us stro n g . H e is o u r le a d e r.” Xor rest a n d re la x a tio
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n all its in h a b ita n ts . M u ch of the b arren n e ss a n d p o v erty could h av e been co rrected by a schem e for the use of th e w aters of th e J o r d a n R iv er, to irrig a te lan d now w asted. E ric Jo h n sto n , w ho was P resid en t E isen h o w er’s special re p re se n ta tiv e to im p le m e n t this life-giving p lan , finally re p o rte d : “ A fter tw o years of discussion, tech n ic al ex p erts of Israel, J o r d a n , L eb a n o n a n d S yria ag reed u p o n every im p o rta n t d etail of a unified J o r d a n p la n . B ut in O c to b e r 1955 it was rejected for p o litical reasons a t a m e e ting of the A rab L e a g u e .” J u d g in g by th e refugee
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nthlyof this in te n tio n : to h a v e b een in Israel, to go to Isra e l, is e n o u g h to b ra n d y ou as a n en em y a n d , m o re possibly, a spy. T h e A ra b psychosis (an o rn a te w o rd b u t n o t too stro n g ) a b o u t Israel is official, a n d infectious. T h e r e m a y b e m a n y re a so n a b le p eo p le in th e A ra b co u n trie s w ho a re ab le to th in k c alm ly a b o u t Isra e l a n d a b o u t A ra b - Israel relatio n s; if so, th ey choose safety an d keep th e ir m o u th s sh u t. W h en it com es to m o v
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rte rs of an h o u r ago. T h e re is n o t a w a r on, n o t by a n y term s we know . T h e o b ject of th is n o n -p e a c e -n o n -w a r exercise is to d estro y Isra e l, w h ich re m a in s u n d e stroyed. I c a n n o t see h o w it h elp s th e A ra b co u n tries, b u t p e rh a p s it does. P e rh a p s th e y need one en em y th e y c a n a g ree on, as a unifying force, as c e m e n t for th e ir n a tio n a lism .I w an te d to visit P a
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you killed in these battles?” “ No, no one. Yes, we refused Partition. We did not w ant the Jews here; we wanted the whole country for ourselves, as is right. W e only lost because of the LTnited N ations and the W estern powers .“ The O ttom an Em pire crush
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agreed so far?”“ It is right.” “ T he A rab governm ents and the Palestinian A rabs rejected Partition absolutely. You w anted the whole country. T here is no secret about this. T he statem ents of the A rab representatives in the U N are on record. T he A rab governm ents never hid the fact th at they started the w ar against Israel. But you, the Palestinian A rabs, agreed to this, you w anted it. A nd you thought, it seems to me very reasonably, th at you w ould w in and win quickly. It hardly seemed a gam ble; it seemed a sure bet. You took the gam ble and you lost. I can understand w hy you have all been searching for explanations of th at defeat ever since, because it does seem incredible. I don’t happen to 58THE ARABS OF PALESTINEaccep
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is a good, sensible idea. P lease answer m e this, which is w hat I m ust know. If the position were reversed, if the Jew s had started the war and lost it, if you had won the w ar, would you now accept Partition? W ould you give up p art of the country and allow the 650,000 Jew ish residents of Palestine — who had fled from the w ar — to come back?”“ C ertainly n o t,” he said, w ithout an instant’s hesitation. “ But there would have been no Jew ish refugees. T hey had no place to go. They would all be dead or in the sea. ”H e had given me the missi
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ll be dead or in the sea.” H e had given me the missing clue. T he fancy word we use now adays is “ em pathy” — entering into the em otions of others. I had appreciated and adm ired individual refugees but realized I had felt no blanket em pathy for the Palestinian refugees, and finally I knew why — owing to this nice, gray-haired schoolteacher. It is hard to sorrow for those who only sorrow over themselves. It is difficult to pity the pitiless. To wring the heart past all doubt, those who cry aloud for justice m ust be innocent. They cannot have wished for a victorious rew arding w ar, blam e everyone else for their defeat, and rem ain guiltless. Some of them m ay be unfortunate hum an beings, and civilization would collapse (as it notoriously did in N azi G erm any) if most people did not naturally move to help their h u rt fellow m en. But a profound difference exists between victims of misfortune (there, but for the grace of God, go I) and victims of injustice. M y em pathy knew where it stood, thanks to the schoolteacher. “ Do you follow the E ichm a
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they will need m ore land.” “ Israel is about the size of New Jersey, a state in America. Some six million people live quite com fortably in New Jersey. Israel could become an industrial state, a very useful one.”“ No, it cannot. T he A rab nations will not allow it. They will not trade w ith Israel. They will not let Israeli ships go through the Canal. They do not wish Israel to do these things. They will not accept Israel.” “ It is hopeless,” I said.
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m aterial life than before. None of these A rabs has suffered anything com parable to w hat survivors of m odern war know; none can im agine such catastrophe. Ahe C hristian schoolteacher s
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h a t force, F a t h e r ? ) H e of te n told A r a b priests a b o u t th e t h i r t e e n m ill io n refu g ees w h o c a m e f r o m E a s t G e r m a n y to W e s t G e r m a n y : th e y w e r e all a b s o r b e d i n t o W e s t G e r m a n y a n d e n r i c h e d t h e c o u n t r y . W h y w o u ld n o t 8 0 0 ,0 0 0 A r a b refugees e n r i c h th e A r a b c o u n tries, w h i c h w e r e big a n d u n d e r p o p u l a t e d ? B u t it is n o use; A r a b s h a v e n e v e r h e a r d of a n y o t h e r refug ees o r a n y o t h e r p r o b l e m t h a n t h e i r o w n , a n d t h e y c a n n o t t h i n k a b o u t t h a t , in a p r a c t i c a l w ay. T h e w h o l e p r o b l e
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(B u t h o w , F a t h e r ? ) A h well, t h e J e w s m i g h t as well let th e re fugees c o m e b a c k ; t h e A r a b s h e r e a r e loy al to t h e s ta te . (“ T h e o n es I ’v e seen d e t e s t th e J e w s a n d th e st ate , F a t h e r , a n d y o u k n o w i t . ” I e x p e c t e d his l a u g h t e r to m a k e a s o u n d , it was so v io le n t.) Yes, yes, t h a t is t r u e , b u t t h e y d o n o t h i n g . T h e r e is n o resi st ance, n o u n d e r g r o u n d . T h i n k w h a t t h e y c o u ld d o if t h e y re a l l y w a n t e d to, w i t h th e A r a b c o u n t r i e s all a r o u n d as a b a s e . (S o m e A r a b s d i d for a l o n g tim e, F a t h e r — u n t i l 1956, in fa c t; lo ok a t th e c o u n tle ss i n c i d e n t s w i t h t h e U N poli ce force c a l l e d o u t to i n v e s tig a te m u r d e r s , thefts, s a b o t a g e . ) O h , t h a t w as n o t h i n g , n o t h i n g to w h a t t h e y c o u ld d o if t h e y re a lly w a n t e d to .W i t h a n o t h e r m u t
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h a t th eA r a b s said , F i r s t we will finish w i t h th e S h a b b a t h s , a n d t h e n w ith th e S u n d a y s . T h e y n e v e r c h a n g e d t h e i r ide as. T h e y w e n t a r o u n d lo o k in g a t the w o m e n a n d th e hous es t h e y w o u ld t a k e w h e n th ey m a n a g e d to get rid of th e J e w s a n d th e C h ris ti an s. H e l a u g h e d h im se lf in to a good s h a k e ov e r this one .I asked a b o u t th e E i
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h a te ? ”W h a t in d eed ? A ra b s gorge on h a te , they roll in it, th ey b re a th e it. Jew s top th e h a te list, b u t a n y foreig n ers are h atefu l en o u g h . A rab s also h a te each o th e r, se p a ra te ly a n d en m asse. T h e ir p o litician s c h a n g e th e d ire c tio n of th e ir h a te as they w o u ld c h an g e th e ir shirts. T h e ir press is v u lg a rly base w ith h ate-filled c a rto o n s; th e ir r e p o rtin g describ es w h a te v e r h a te is now u p p e rm o st a n d c o n v e n ie n t. T h e ir ra d io is a long scream of h a te , a ca ll to h ate. T h e y teach th e ir c h ild re n h a te in school. T h e y m u st love th e ta ste of h a te ; it is th e ir d a ily b re a d . A n d w h a t good h as it d o n e them ? TJlHERe is n o fu tu re in
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good h as it d o n e them ?T JlHERe is n o fu tu re in sp e n d in g U N m o n ey to b re e d h a te . T h e re is n o fu tu re in n a g g in g o r b u lly ing Israel to c o m m it suicid e by th e adm ission of a fatal locu st sw arm of enem ies. T h e re is n o fu tu re in N asser’s solution, th e H o ly W a r a g a in st Israel; an d we h a d b e tte r m
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a v e th e A ra b refugees. T h e P alestin ian refugees could h av e been a b sorbed in to th e econom ic life of the A ra b co u n tries long ago, desp ite th e re m a rk of U N R W A ’s D ire c to r — in his 1 960 re p o rt — th a t jo b s d o n o t exist for the refugees in th e A ra b co u n tries. O f course they d o n o t exist; if th ey d id , th e A ra b sta n d a rd of life would be a finer an d a b e tte r th in g th a n it is now . T h e jo b s m u st be m a d e ; b u t the A rab co u n tries need to h av e th e jo b s d o n e as m u ch as th e refugees n eed to d o th e m . T h e D ire c to r of U N R W A states, in th e sam e re p o rt, th a t th e m a jo rity of P a le stin ia n refugees a re unskilled peasants an d th ere a re e n o u g h o r too m a n y of those in th e A ra b co u n tries a lre a d y . N o d o u b t. But unskilled peasants, all over th e w o rld , have learn ed to b ecom e skilled facto ry w orkers or scientific farm ers, a t v ery sh o rt n o tice; th a t ab ility to learn is w h a t m akes o u r m o d e rn in d u stria l civilization tick. T h e Y em en ite Jew s w ho m oved in a w eek from th e M id d le Ages to Israel, the unskilled Polish p easan ts o p e ra tin g the N ova H u ta steel m ills a re obvious ex am ples of this tra n sfo rm a tio n . N e ig h b o rin g A rab s re g a rd the P alestin ian A rab s as o u tsta n d in g ly in tellig en t. 63 The Atlantic MonthlyI would
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P A L E S T I N Ef u tu r e . U N R W A ’s g re a te s t gift to th e refu g ees, to th e A r a b w o rld , a n d , in d ire c tly , to us ail is th e e d u c a tio n a n d h e a lth o f its c h a rg e s . U N R W A s h o u ld re c e iv e m o re m o n e y a n d b e c o n s id e re d p r im a r ily a n e d u c a tio n a l in s titu tio n . In m y o p in io n , U N R W A w ill be w ith us for so m e tim e , a n a d m i r a b l e t r a in in g school for y o u n g P a le s tin ia n s a n d a k in d ly o ld folks’ h o m e for a g e d P a le stin ia n s. B u t U N R W A to o m u st b e ta k e n o u t o f p o litics. I ts w o rk s h o u ld n o t be s u b je c t to A r a b p o litic a l s u p e rv is io n ; n o n e of its a c tiv itie s s h o u ld b e u sed for A r a b p r o p a g a n d a p u rp o s e s ; a n d its W e s te rn p e rs o n n e l m u s t keep th e m se lv e s rig o ro u s ly d e ta c h e d fro m th e A r a b - I s r a e l c o n tro v e rs y . ‘JLhe P a le s tin ia n refuge
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