ARAB PALESTINIA

^^kH^^H ^^feli^

MONTHLY MAGAZINE

VOLUME m - No. 10

101971

PALESTINE LIBERATION ARMY -. PEOPLE'S LIBERATION FORCES

R A B A L E S T I N I A N

R E S I S T A N C E

Volume III - No. 10 October 1971

C O N T E N T S

Editorial 4

U.S. Involvement in the Middle East ft

Four years of occupation, by: Felicia Langer^'i?

Three poems, by: Samih El-Kasim 27

Palestine Question in World press 33

Palestine Diary by: Tousef Khatib 40

A.B.C. of the Palestine question 48

Israel Black Panthers by: Edmund Ghareeb 49

Resistance operations 64

Review of Events 68

Book Review : The Making of Israel Army 74

Questions and Answers : Israel and Human rights 80

Chauvinism and Racism in Israel . . By: I. Dadiani 86

Documents : Security Council Resolution onJerusalem 92

L.

Correspondence:The Editor,Resistance,P.O.B. 3577Damascus, Syria

Price per copy

Syrian piasters 1004/-

$ 0.50

Militants who have taken uparms to fight the battle of liberationconstitute the nucleus of the peo-ple's army, which will act as a shieldprotecting the rights of the Arabpeople of Palestine.

Article 30 of thePalestine National Covenant

Editor: M. KHUKI

L

Editorial

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L.

In 1948 the United Nations, under pressure from theUnited States, created Israel; and it has been busy with itand with the so-called Middle East problem ever since.

Since its imposition as an alien and foreignbody in the Middle East region, Israel, which wasestablished in the very heart of the Arab worldthrough the uprooting of the Arab people of Pales-tine, has been the cause of endless violence, tensionand strife.

With the increase of its military power throughthe backing of world imperialism and the seeminglyendless millions of dollars which are continuallypumped into it by the World Zionist Organizationand by the imperialist powers led by the U.S., Israelhas been following a policy of arrogance, expansionand aggression.

Israeli aggression twice brought the world tothe verge of a devastating global war, first in 1956and later in 1967. And since 1967 the Tel Avivauthorities have obstructed all attempts at a politi-

cal settlement, have continued to occupy Arab terri-tories and have subjected the inhabitants of theseterritories to a regime of force, violence and terror.

In the West Bank, the Golan Heights, EastJerusalem and Gaza, Arab houses are demolished,villages are destroyed, land is illegally expropriatedand people are deported or imprisoned and tortured.

For all this, the international community hasrepeatedly censured the Israeli authorities. Israel infact has been repeatedly condemned by the organsof the United Nations for acts of aggression and forflagrant disregard of human rights and internationalconventions. Most recent condemnation came fromthe UN Security Council, on September 25, in con-nection with Israel's plan to Judaize Jerusalem.

But the time has come for a stronger deterrentthan mere condemnation. If the U.N. is to retainsome respect or influence in international affairs,sanctions should be applied against the aggressor inthe Middle East. •

U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN THE

MIDDLE EAST

The following is a summary of an extensive studyprepared for Liberty Lobby Board of Policy Members inthe United States. It demonstrates the disastrous conse-quences to American interests of the present U.S. policy ofblind support for Israel and the Zionist program.

The study concludes with the warning that «only aninformed American people can save America; and that theycan save it only if all those to whom it is given to knowwill share their knowledge with others.»

• The Problem

,,; , Many Americans are confused by various reli-gious and political myths that surround the questionof the formation and destiny of the so-called Repu-blic of Israel. Uninformed Christians believe that

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Zionism is a religious movement instead of a politi-cal one, and that this new nation is the fulfillmentof Old Testament prophecy. Real Bible studentsknow that the Jews forfeited all of the promisesmade by God to the Jews when they rejected theMessiah, Jesus Christ. The Republic of Israel ispurelv the product of the political machinations ofone political party—the Zionists—made up largelyof atheistic Jews. Today, we find the Zionists tryingto involve the United States of America in theirfeuds with the Arabs, whose land has been stolenby the Zionists.

If America is to avoid being swept into themaelstrom of a nuclear confrontation in the MiddleEast and a resulting World War which would des-troy all the fruits of Western culture and civiliza-tion, we must stand firm for a policy of neutralityand noninvolvement in the Middle East.

Historians have already pointed out thatAmerican intervention in the affairs of Europe in1917 only created new problems for America. Withintwo decades, the fruits of the Versailles Treatyharvested the Second World War. Once again thistime, by secret planning of President Franklin D.Roosevelt and Prime Minister Winston S. Churchill,the United States experienced its greatest militarydisaster at Pearl Harbor, which led to our involve-ment in the ancient quarrels of other nations. Yet,m spite of the sacrifice of thousands of American

youth and the expenditures of billions of the tax-payers' money, no lasting accomplishment came outof these two World Wars.

• American Support of Zionism

Our historical documentary proves conclusivelythat Zionist leaders promised English politiciansthat the U.S. would be pushed into World War I bythe international bankers in order for the Zioniststo secure the promise of any English government toassist the Zionists in establishing a «homeland» re-gardless of the rights of the Arabs. Secondly thefacts prove that World War II was created out ofthe seeds of hate sown at the Peace Conference atVersailles. Further, that undue pressure was put onPresident Truman to recognize the Republic ofIsrael. It is self-evident that all of these facts dis-close how far the American government has strayedfrom our traditional foreign policy of neutrality andnon-intervention in the affairs of other nations.

While many students of Zionism are aware ofthe above facts, at the same time most Americansare unaware of the vast financial resources divertedfrom our nation to the uses of political Zionism.

Since 1948, and up to 1965, the total economicand military aid given by the United States govern-ment to the unlawful Zionist, bankrupt regime inoccupied Palestine, amounted to $1,079,400,000. TheWorld Zionist Organization, just a few weeks ago,issued a statement declaring that «world Jewry andits friends» have contributed over 2 billion dollars

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in private gifts and contributions to Israel in thepast year! This means the Zionists now are pouringmore than a billion dollars a year into the treasuryof Israel out of the United States money market,and note well: These siphoned funds are tax-exempt,deductible. Since 91 percent of all American tax-payers are non-Jewish, the financial drain by theZionists adds to the tax burden of the couple ofhundred million U.S. citizens who are of the Chris-tian faith!B American Support of Israel Quixotic

The Zionist propaganda mills in this countryare telling the American public that the U,S. muststand foursquare behind Israel, since Israel is a fineexample of democracy in action.

Actually this attribution of democracy is bothquixotic and untrue. In 1952 the Israeli parliamentpassed the Nationality Act, which served to codify

existing discriminations and made the Arabs second-class citizens. Under the provisions of the Act, allJews in Israel automatically become citizens of thestate; but not one of the Palestine Arabs (240,000 ofthem) who remained in the country can gain citi-zenship without first proving his residence in Pales-tine before May 14, 1948. At the same time, manyof the Arabs who remained in their ancestral homeswere uprooted from their villages along the borderson the basis of «security» and were paid nominalsums for their properties.

On top of the forced sale of their property, theArabs were placed under strict military rule. Re-ports disclosed that by the end of 1980 more than250,000 acres of A.rab land were appropriated by theState of Israel. All of this took place, of course, in anation which the Zionist-kept press of Americadeclares to be «a shining example of democraticaction.»

• Sending American Troops Overseas

Many pro-Zionists in this country will arguethat we shall never send American boys into theMideast. To them we commend for reading PublicLaw 85-7, promulgated on March 9, 1957 by the 85thCongress. Section 11 reads as follows:

«The President is authorized to undertake inthe Mideast, military assistance programs with anynations or group of nations of that area deserving...To this end if the President determines the neces-sity thereof, the United States is prepared to use

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med forces to assist any such nation or group ofaucn nations requesting assistance against armedaggression from any country controlled by internalcommunism.))

The true status of Zionist control of Congresshas been revealed many times by the willing con-gressional signatories of petitions for aid to Israel.The most telling vote occurred on December 15, 1970,when the Senate was considering sending $500million in aid to Israel (conveniently misnamed bythe press the «Cambodian Aid Bill.») On that date,the now-retired Senator John Williams of Delawareintroduced an amendment to put the same restric-tions on aid to Israel that the Senate had placed onaid to Cambodia — namely, that no troops shall besent. Senator Church, a hysterical «dove» on Viet-nam, moved to table (kill) the Williams amendment.The vote to kill the amendment was 10-20, with 20abstentions. This vote can be interpreted in no otherway than as a tacit approval of sending troops toIsrael.

H Innocent American Aggression

U.S. involvement in both World Wars, theKorean Conflict, Vietnam and now Cambodia andLaos — all began by «innocently» supplying armsand equipment; but in each case, things mushroomedinto fullscale United States participation with thou-sands of American boys spilling their blood on 'fo-reign soil because our leaders forgot the Americandictum: «No involvement with foreign nations.))

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American boys have been shipped overseas beforethis. As related above, a law already exists whichcould send thousands more to die for a land, stolenfrom many of its rightful owners and now beinggoverned by the occupiers while tax-free Americandollars support this remittance state of pretenders.

• The U.S.S. Liberty Incident

Already American blood has been shed in theMideast conflict in the mysterious attack by theIsraeli air force and torpedoes on the USS Libertyduring the June 1967 war. It happened June 8, 1967.This ignominious and unprovoked attack on ourvessel in international waters, lest we forget, took34 American lives and wounded 75. The Israelis'weak alibi is that they misread the Liberty's mark-ings for those of an Arab vessel, despite the factthat it was a clear day and the American flag wasin full view. The official records are carefully pre-served by our government; but it is most unlikelythat they will ever be declassified and made public.The Zionists will see to that, since their mischievouscause would be damaged should the American publicever realize the extent of Zionist guilt in this delibe-rate attack on an American navy ship. Patriotsshould press Congress for full hearings and fulldisclosure of all the facts in this diabolical plot.

• Only Organization Espousing Neutrality

In 1971, LIBERTY LOBBY remains the onlyorganized lobbying group in Washington espousing

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neutrality in the Middle East. Ever mindful of ourhistoric American policy for noninvolvement andabsolute neutrality as practiced by the early leadersof our republic, LIBERTY LOBBY believes anyother policy will lead us inevitably into war. Everylesson of our past diplomatic history tells the samestory: Foreign involvements mean American bloodbaths and tremendous financial drains on our na-tional economy.

Interestingly enough, no major professionalpoll-taking organization has yet taken the pulse ofthe American people on intervention in the MiddleEast by the United States; or if they have, no figureshave been released to the public. A small poll takenby the Municipal Research Institute indicates thatsome 86% of those polled were against American

Middle East intervention. Are the American peopleonce again asserting their belief in the foreign policyof Presidents Washington, Jefferson, and Madison?

• Where Is Your Loyalty?

Jews in the United States are confronted todaywith a vital question: «Where is your loyalty, andwhere do you claim citizenship?)) Not too long agoa young Jewish high school senior said, «I owe noloyalty to the United States.» To young men likehim, we need to say firmly: «You have the right tochoose the country to which you want to give yourloyalty; BUT, if it isn't the United States, then goto the country of your choice, and don't expect toenjoy all the American privileges and benefits whileyour love is toward another nation.»

Some will say: «I love both the U.S., where Iwas born, and also Israel, whose cultural and politi-cal objectives reflect my own desires.» To them, wesay: «You cannot have citizenship in two countries.You must serve one, and give up the other.»

Many Jews reject political Zionism; and tothem we can say sincerely: «You are a part ofAmerica. We rejoice in the abilities and talentswhich you have put toward the use and growth ofour nation.»

It is difficult for non-political Zionists to seethe logic of a movement which first cried out againstthe Jews being held down by a process of medievalapartheid or separation and whose slogan today be-comes «Israel for Israelis only.» Evidently all the

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flung ghettos of the world are to be gathered• to one patch of soil in Palestine to create a singleconsolidated ghetto.

n The Last WordThe last word on the Mideast was also our first,

even as the past is prologue to the future. Fewutterances in history contain so much wisdom as theimmortal Farewell Address of George Washington,eiven before Congress in 1796. The Farewell Address5stands as an all-time classic of American sentimentsprecisely because latter-day politicians have chosento ignore it for their own personal expediency. Letthe reader judge for himself whether the cowardsand the ambitious politicians of today who cowerbefore the Zionist whiplash are worthy of confi-dence, or whether instead it is those who are notafraid to put American First who deserve theirrespect:

«So likewise a passionate attachment of onenation for another produces a variety of evils.Sympathy for the favorite nation, facilitating theillusion of an imaginary common interest in caseswhere no real common interest exists, and infusinginto one the enmities of the other, betrays the for-mer into a participation in the quarrels and wars ofthe latter, without adequate inducements or justifi-cations. It leads also to concessions, to the favoritenation, of privileges denied to others, which is aptdoubly to injure the nation making the concessions,by unnecessary parting with what ought to have

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been retained, and by exciting jealousy, ill will, anda disposition to retaliate in the parties from whomequal privileges are withheld; and it gives to ambi-tious, corrupted or deluded citizens who devotethemselves to the favorite nation, facility to betrayor sacrifice the interests of their own country, with-out odium, sometimes even with popularity; gildingwith the appearances of a virtuous sense of obliga-tion, a commendable deference for public opinion,or a laudable zeal for public good, the base or foolishcompliances of ambition, corruption, or infatuation.

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^Occupationby: Felicia Langer .

/ I Y*~*-~• "* ~ ~ »M/V-lfcv

Felicia Langer is a practising Israeli Jewish lawyer.She writes on the horrors of Israeli rule in the occupiedArab territories from first hand information rather thanhearsay evidence. The following account of four years ofoppressive Israeli rule (1967-1971) first appeared in theAugust - 1971 issue of «New Perspectives - Journal of theWorld Peace Council.

•

Four years of war. Four years of occupation. Isee before my eyes the first two proclamations ofthe Israeli army in the occupied areas which read asfollows: 1. «The Israeli Defence Army has todayentered this area and has taken into its handsauthority and maintenance of security and publicorder in the area.» 2. «I herewith proclaim curfewin the entire area.»

And in the ((Proclamation Regarding Seizure ofAuthority)) it said among other things: «A11 autho-rity of ruling, legislation, appointments, and admi-

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nistration regarding this area or its inhabitants -willfrom now on solely rest in my hands and will be p^into action solely by me, those appointed by me, orthose acting on my behalf.»

And afterwards, during four years, many hund-reds of announcements and orders were issuedwhose aim. is this one: oppression of the inhabitantsof the occupied territories, for which such ordersare meant to constitute the legal basis.

As regards this system of orders, it has beenestablished that there exists no juridical possibilityat all of opposing the occupation. No organization,be it the most innocent one, such as the one formutual aid for school children, or any charity is per-mitted. It is forbidden to strike (this prohibitionincludes strikes in schools, which are so widespreadin Israel), to distribute leaflets bearing upon anypublic matter, to hold a quiet demonstration, to closea shop in protest, to conduct any political propa-ganda, verbally or in writing. And, as if thqse ordersdid not cover the whole range of oppression ofthought and deed, they are supplemented by theBritish mandatory Defence Regulations (Emer-gency) — 1945

In the wake of the occupation, military courtswere established in Gaza, Hebron, Ramalla, Beth-'lehem, Nablus, Jenin, Tul Karem, as well as a mili-tary court in Lod (Lydda) which tries inhabitantsof Arab East-Jerusalem. These courts are workingat full steam; hardly a day passes without a trial.Many thousands have been indicted by them. Ac-

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to anofficiaj^ assessment, published by the«Ma'ariv» on May 13,

APril 197° to APril

~

military courf"ln Gaza 5,620 persons_were~f which 27 were convicted and senten-

imprisonment. Fines imposed amounted4^300^000 Israeli^pou^sT^

f Who are these thousands who fill the prisons?Among them are old people of 80 and more, children0£ 13 iCTherange of «crime» they are_accused ofjs wide and varied^ it includes: being members ofstudent organizations, participation in a quiet de-monstration, distribution of leaflets calling for strikeaction and refusing to accept the occupation. There .are also those who are accused of violent actionsand who assert j/efore the court that it is the usur-pation which compelled them to take up arms and'resist their homeland's occupation which they cannottolerate.

Offering a glass of water to a relative who is [}suspected of belonging to an illegal organization; or !giving accommodation even for one night to a bro-ther, sister, son or daughter; failure to informagainst him or her to the authorities are common«crimes» for which people are sent to prison. Alsoreading certain Israeli newspapers (or a Jordania'none) is a crime.

Also, the return to the homeland, which hasbeen split by the invader, is a serious crime and theclaim that the «infiltrator» wanted to return to hisfamily does not help him at all. And after serving

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sentence, he is automatically deported to the JordanEast Bank.

It is forbidden to mourn publicly the dead whofell in the war. We still remember the brutal ver-dicts pronounced against scores of young boys ofEast Jerusalem for the «crime» of taking part in acommemoration parade for the victims of the Junewar. My claim in court that they had a natural rightto parade on that day was erased from the protocol,and the judge claimed that the date of June 5 hadno reference to the matter in hand.

Over a year ago, Police Minister Mr. ShlomoHillel, declared (in the Minister's interview inthe Israeli Broadcasting on April 4, 1970) that Arabdetainees are not tortured during interrogation bythe police.

But what is the reality? I declare herewith,that with my own -eyes I have seen detainees, myclients, with clear marks of beatings and tortures,and that on innumerable occasions I protested inthe military courts in vain against this sort of treat-ment. There is hardly a single protocol of a militarycourt which does not contain descriptions of torture,with indications of places where they were carriedout and the names of the witnesses who saw thedetainee after such «treatment.»

Subsequent to the «solemn» declaration of thehonourable minister, I addressed an open letter tohim, published in the press («A1 Ittihad», 28. 4. 1970,and «Zo Haderekh», 6. 5. 1970), in which I detaileddozens of instances, including names, dates and

particulars, concerning persons who had0 , .^at they were tortured and on their behalf

hT complained to the very same Minister or toDefence Minister. Not only did he refuse to

point a Commission of enquiry, hardly a singlese from the list had reached the stage of being the

subject of an impartial investigation. This letter ofmine to the Minister remained without reply, as didmany of my other complaints, which at best wereanswered in a routine manner, viz.; «Nothing of thesort has happened.))

- Tire penalization policy in the occupied areas(where no court of appeal exists to consider verdictsand sentences of military courts, but solely the in-stitution of «pardoning» by the military commander)is guided by the principle of deterring the accused,and by the nature of one's personal circumstances.Advanced old age or the tender age of the accusedare taken into account only to a limited extent, i.e.,when considering mitigation of the degree of punish-ment. It happened that one of my clients, Al-Wahash, a destitute, illiterate fellah, about 50 yearsof age, became insane during his detention. Fromtime to time he had attacks of madness, whicharoused the concern of the prison authorities. Onthe day of his trial he did not comprehend anythingthat was happening around him and his appearanceshocked even his guards. In the course of pronoun-cing the verdict on June 13, 1970, in the militarycourt of Ramalla, the judge said that «the man'shome had been demolished and his family disper-

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sed», but in his summary statement he reached theconclusion that ((considerations of public benefit areto be preferred to personal circumstances and I sen-tence the accused to 10 years in prison.»

On one occasion a resolution of the UnitedNations was placed before the court. This is whathappened in regard to the resolution adopted by theSocial Commission of the United Nations of Decem-ber 1970, to the effect that underground fightersagainst an occupation force have the right to thestatus of prisoners of war. My very first words onthis subject, when I requested that this practice beapplied to my client, Yusuf Hamed Amru, in themilitary court in Hebron on 21. 12. 1970, met withvigorous opposition from the military judge whosaid he would not permit me to quote any resolutionof the UN, which anyway «do not oblige us», andthat, in any case this «is politics...))

So far our concern has been with briefly revie-wing those who have had the prerogative to be puton trial, and who have had the. opportunity to defendthemselves against their accusers. But there aresome who do not even know what a courtroom lookslike. These are the masses of administrative detai-nees who have been held under the Defence Regu-lations (Emergency) 1945, in accordance with anorder termed Administrative Detention Order (Re-gulation 111). Thereunder a person may be detainedwithout any substantiation of the charge, or obliga-tion to bring him to trial. The name for this sort of

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Detention is: ((Prison for life», because no one knowswhen such detention will end.

Since the June war 1967, about 10,000 houseshave been demolished. This, of course, is "ho fmaT"figure; it is quite possible that at this very momentadditional houses are being blown up. There is noneed to describe the 'Bevelled stretches of groundthat were once the sites of the villages, Amwas,Beit-Nouba and Yalo in the Latrun district. Thepretexts for the destruction of houses are to befound in the Defence Regulations (Emergency) 1945,and they are very simple indeed. viz.,^a,rms_jnightbe found in the vicinity Of a house, thougji,.the in-

gf'lnay'not be aware__of_thg_fact; orhabitants,, the:one of the residents of theTiouie^has rendered aidto «fedayin» activity. Such «reasons» suffice forblowing up a building sheltering dozens of men,women and children, none of whom have the sligh-test connection with the allegation. Moreover, forthe demolition of a house, mere suspicion is enough:there is no need to prove anything before an autho-rized court. ' There were numerous cases wheninhabitants claimed that the concealment of arms intheir house had been a planned provocation. But'of^rrat^avaircoulor be~~ such a claim even if it wereproved in court, when the house in question had longago become a heap of rubble? In this manner, entirefamilies, many thousands of them, remained withouta roof above their heads, without permission eitherto build an alternative dwelling, or even to use thebuilding material remaining after the destruction.

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The demolition of houses is executed within a fewhours after the order is issued (this contradicts eventhe arbitrary Defence Regulations); there is noopportunity for demanding the cancellation of thedemolition order, and the «reason» for this has beenstated: «only in this manner is the medicine effi-cient...))

Then there is «expropriation»_ whose purpose isthe «Judaization» of~tKe~oc^pied territories. This iscarried out in accordance with the Brrtish mandatorylaw which permits! the «acquisitior/ of lands forpublic needs.» With the help of tnis law the IsraeliArabs were depriven of large/tracts of their landsin the Galilee and tne Triangle in the course of 23years. This law servas the occupation authoritiesmainly in East Jerusale^i and its vicinity. My at-tempts to appeal agamst the expropriations ongrounds of the illegality of the annexation of EastJerusalem to IsraeXand That this annexation conflictswith international law, si\jce it had been condemnedby U.N., have/failed. The \arne fate has befallen theclaim, the truth of which\s generally' known, na-mely, that/the aim of the Expropriations is to alterthe demographic structure of the city, and the crea-tion of «faits accomplis» by, peopling it with Jews;this claim fell on deaf ears \ court.

On the ruins of the demolished homes of Arabs,luxurious housing estates are\g 'constructed forJews, and the Arab inhabitants of Jerusalem arecompelled to look for accomodation in the neighbouring villages of Azaria, Abu-Dis, Assawiya, far re-

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V

moved from the sources of their income and fromthe environment which they have been accustomedto for many years.

It appears there is no limit to the power of in-vention of the usurper when looking for ways of

, expropriation. The rule is: What's mine is mine and\s yours is mine, too.» Shocking is the case of

a man who was an inhabitant of the demolishedAmwas village and whose home together with hisbelongings had been destroyed at the end of theJune, 1967, war by the Israeli armed forces. He wasforced to roam about with his numerous children,barefoot and without any food, looking for a roofover the family's heads. After many hardships, theman found a place in East Jerusalem for his family.It was not easy to start from scratch again, but theman's tragedy did not end there. About a year ago,a legal claim was made commanding him to abandonthe property where he lived. The claim stated thathis house had been built on a site which belongedto the Guardian of Jewish Properties in Jordanianterritory.

A very painful matter is that of the split fami-/ lies. It is known to all, that hundreds of thousands

of new refugees, have been added to those who formore than 20 years have been suffering in refugeecamps. These new refugees are a result of the June,1967 war. Many thousands of families were split.Extremely few of those have been permitted to.reunite, they being only the old people among them.

The concept « reunion of families)), to which

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\e authorities attribute sacred significance when itrefers to Jews anywhere in the world or is used to

1 arouse anti-Soviet incitement, is cynically trampledI underfoot when it refers to Arab families.

Such is the general appearance of the allegedly«liberal» occupation, though this euphemism israpidly being abandoned. The defence Minister M.Dayan, too, once replied to his critics, who hadclaimed that he handled things too softly in theoccupied areas: «Except that we don't hang them,what do we not do to them?...»

And this is the whole trut_hu_except usingwj3_jiH(rTri::Irig^ ver-

dicts^ the ^occupation authorities employ everyimasirjabje__form_ of oppression. The Townof Gazaand what happened~"£lTere-:'particularly during themonth of January succeeded in breaking down thepolicy of silencing and muffling of protests carriedout by the official mouthpieces, and showed theimmoral depths to which the invader has descended:brutal searches, beatings of the inhabitants withwhips and cudgels, and shooting into the crowds.

\c all tl

already for 4 year:the Palestinian Arries have npt suthemselves als to ttraitors and informall their mig|tt ag,legitimate rights.

e oppression, /Which has lastedthe invader ftas not had his way:b people in me occupied territo-rendered, hjave not reconciled

occupation, have not becomesrs, but continue to struggle withnst the occupation and for their

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THR£E POEMS

Samih El KasimSamih Kassem is an outstanding- poet of the Pales-

tinian resistance inside the occupied territories. «I shallresists and «None of them shall pass» are poems of defiancewritten by the poet before he left Zionist-occupied Palestine.«The children of Rafah» is a recent poem inspired by theheroic resistance of the Gaza Strip. Rafah is a town in the

Strip.

I SHALL RESIST

I may lose my living — or what you wish,Work as dustman, porter or what you will,Look in the dung for beans to eat,Or lose the last foot of my land;You may feed prisons with my youth,Burn my books and poemsGive my flesh to the dogs; but I,

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\

Sun foes, shall bargain not,And till the last pulse in my veins shall resist!In the harbour there are lightsHeralding brighter things to come.In the horizon there looms a sail,Strong and defiant, that brings UlyssesBack, brings the sun, and the exiled.No, no, I shall resistTo the last pulse in my veins, I shall resist!

NONE OF THEM SHALL PASS ...

I never knew hatred in the pastBut a ready-to-kill spear I now hold fast •To face the dragonTo be the Elijah of the race.In the past; but that was in the past,An open house I had for one and all.But one morning, I awokeTo find flour stolen, child stabbed, and wife choked.I recognized my treacherous guestsI planted my garden with mines, daggers, and the rest.By this dagger I swear,None of them shall pass this threshold again.I never knew hatred in the past,But in the Twentieth Century I have learnt the art.

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THE CHILDREN OF RAF AH

To him:

To him:

To him:

To him:Tonight

To himTonight

who digs his path inthe wounds of the millions andwhose tanks crush the roses of the garden;who at night, breaks the windows of homesburns a field . . . a museum andsings to the blaze;who in his footsteps rips the hair ofbereaved mothers wrecking grapefieldswho in the town-square executes thenightingale of joy and whose planesbombard the dreams of childhood;who breaks rainbows

The children of the deep roots declare,

The children of Eafah declare:We did not weave bedspreads out ofhair braids. ,We did not spit on the face of a murderedwoman,after plucking the gold teeth shehad carried.

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Why do you take the candyand give us bombshells?Why do you make orphans of Arabchildren?and . . . thank you?

Grief turned us into men:WE MUST FIGHT.

II

The sun on a conqueror's bayonet wasA naked corpse despised:Bleeding silenceOver rancorous prayer beads amidstBlood-congested facesAn occupier with legendary features yelled:Aren't you going to speak?Fine:Upon you then, a curfew will be imposedas of ...Aladdin's voice splintered:the birth of the birds of prey,

I threw the stones at the military vehicle,

distributed the leaflets

and gave the signal;

I painted the slogans

carrying a brush and a chair

from a neighborhood. . . to a house. . . to a wall;

I also gathered the children

and we swore

by the exile of the refugees,

to resistas long as a conqueror's bayonet

shines in our street.

Aladdin was no more

than ten.

Ill

The acacia trees are crushedAnd the gates of RafahAre sealed with sorrowOr with waxOr a curfew

(The girl had to take bread andbandages to a wounded man thatreturned after midnight. She hadto cross a street overwatchedby the eyes of the strangers,the wind and the mouths of guns.)

The acacia trees are crushedand like a wound,a door of a house in Rafah was opened.She leaped.Landing in the lap of a jasmine tree;Once on the sidewalk /if terror.A palm-tree was her shelter,cautiously.. . with every footstepnow jump...A patrol,

30 4ft

L

Flashing lights,A cough— Who are you,STOP .Five guns were fixed at herFive guns.

In the morning,the invader's court was calledthey brought her in:Aminah•the criminal'a child of eight.

32

PALESTINE QUESTIONIN

WORLD PRESS

Our world press extracts for this month are takenfrom (1) a comment in Peter Mansfield's «Middle EastInternational)) column «Points and Counterpoints)), publi-shed in the magazine's September-1971 issue. The commententitled «What Newsweek Didn't Print» warns U.S. Zionistsagainst advocating a policy that might lead the U.S. «toinvolve itself in a war with the Soviet Union for the sakeof Israel.)) (2) an exposition of imperialist-Zionist plans tomake of Israel a aMiddle Ea>it Japan.» The expositionappeared in the Moscow New Times Issue of September _1971 (No. 36) under the title «What is Tel-Aviv CountingOn?»

What Newsweek Didn't Print(Middle East International - September 1971)

._-- v : jOn the day that I arrive the New York Post

publishes a letter: «Now that the Space Cadets havetaken another curtain callj 'how,about folding theshow and getting on with the things that reallymatter? I refer to our obligations to Israel, the pro-vision of economic and social justice to black people,and the attempt to tackle the problems of pollution,poverty and ecology.)) A foreign visitor might betempted to think that an American is being ironic insuggesting that aid to Israel should be given priorityover the tackling of his country's immense social andeconomic problems but I fear that he''is riot. The

: more far-sighted American Jews "are capable'ofseeing that such a mentality is a real menace for thewhole future' of the Jewish community in the "United

'States. It is not only the members of the -small mi-rfority who are anti-Zionist who sense the danger.At a recent debate of American"''and Jewish intel-lectuals" by the" American Jewish' Congress, ArthurCohen, the well-known author and religious philo-sopher,' caused a" stir 1 Toy " asserting that 'American

"Jews are overcorhmitted psychologically : to Israel.He did not say that they should diminish their sup-port for Israel but only that they should «seek to

:34

fine themselves as Jews, not only by identifyingwith the Jewish state.»

This seems to me to reach the heart of the pro-blem -A. few months ago the magazine Newsweekublished an important survey of the American

Jewish community which showed that some 80 per-cent of them believed that the USA should be pre-pared to enter World War III for the sake of Israel.I have heard on good authority that what the samesurvey discovered, but did not reveal, was that aboutthe same proportion of American non-Jews emphati-cally believe that the USA should not involve itselfin a war with the Soviet Union for the sake ofIsrael. The almost total lack of vocal opposition totheir views has deluded American Jews into think-ing that if an agonizing choice had to be made theentire nation would side with them. This 'is notnecessarily so. Not long ago Senator Edward Muskiedeclared himself a candidate for the DemocraticPresidential nomination by saying that the USshould fulfill Israel's demands for more arms, but ifhe were elected President and held the major res-ponsibility for deciding whether World War III wereto take place or not, he would have other considera-tions on his -mind apart frem Israel's security. Hischief concern would be whether the security of theUS was threatened or not. At the time of the Cubanmissile crisis, John Kennedy decided that it wasthreatened and he was probably right. A threat to

35

Israel would hardly be the same — especially whenthe Israelis have cried «wolf» so often before. As inmany other matters, the Israelis themselves aremore realistic in this matter than many of theirZionist supporters in the Diaspora. Having seen howthe support of the French Government — at onetime unquestioned and unlimited — withered awayduring the 1960's, they have no illusion that a USAdministration might not one day act in the sameway.

• What Is Tel-Aviv Counting On?(New Times - No. 36, September 1971)

The long-term schemes of the Israeli expansio-nists and their U.S. backers are becoming clearerfrom month to month. August was particularly illu-minating in this respect. General Dayan's statementthat Israel intended to establish «permanent govern-ment)) on the occupied Arab territories looked likea deliberate demonstration of Tel Aviv's resolve tocarry out its plans of annexation. That was howworld opinion took it. And it was hardly reassuredby the corrections made later by Foreign MinisterEban when he said that Tel Aviv had «not taken adecision concerning annexation of the administeredterritories.))

36

One might think that the Israeli aggressorswere entitled to do what they want with what theyacquired through their perfidious attack on theArabs. But no °ne nas giyen them that right, andno one ever will. And Tel Aviv knows this betterthan anyone. Because of this, the Golda Meir govern-ment is hurrying to «assimilate» the seized territo-ries. How is this «assimilation» being carried out?

In the Gaza Strip, police armed with weldingtorches are sealing the windows and doors of shopswhose owners have joined the boycott of the inva-ders. Bulldozers are levelling entire blocks of homesto make way for strategic roads. In the Arab part ofJerusalem, on the contrary, housing construction isproceeding apace — but only for Israeli settlers.Some 20,000 people from Israel are to be settled onthe Golan Heights in Syria by 1978. There alreadyare 18 military settlements here, and another fiveare to be established in the next two years. Econo-mic plunder of the seized territories is being steppedup. On the Sinai Peninsula, for instance, 6 milliontons of oil is to be extracted this year, and the wholearea is being turned into a military camp.

In a word, there is not a locality in the occu-pied areas where lawlessness is not rife. The inva-ders are evidently out to finalize the annexation andface the world with the accomplished fact.

Equally obvious is the complicity of the United

37

States in these schemes. It is not only a matter Ofthe supply of the latest weaponry to Tel AvivWashington's «quiet diplomacy,)) U.S. press cam.mentators have admitted, is designed to make itappear as if it were anxious to see the conflict resol-ved. This to counter the growing alarm in the Arabworld, to keep the Arabs busy and thus give TelAviv time to carry out its expansionist projects.

But are these projects confined to territorialexpansion? Certainly not. The annexation of Arabterritories is for the Tel Aviv rulers and especiallytheir trans-Atlantic partners not so much the aim asa means for the realization of a broader imperialistpolitical and strategic blueprint for the Middle East.The U.S. imperialists hope to set up with the helpof their Israeli proteges the Middle East counterpartof the ((co-prosperity sphere)) which the Japanesemilitarists once sought to create by fire and swordin Asia. The role to be allotted to an enlarged Israelbristling with U.S. arms is that of an overseer stan-ding over dismembered and weakened Arab count-ries, which would supply the West with oil, cottonand other raw materials on terms favourable for themonopolies and at the same time provide a marketfor Western, and also Israeli manufactures. It is notby chance that Tel Aviv dignitaries have latterlybegun to call their country the «Middle East Japan»and suggested that tank columns pave the way to

trade caravans.

These projects are of course not new. It was toj-v.c.m out that the Israeli army was sent intoarrV til"111 ^"

• in June 1967. But the surprise blow struck at1 U A R-, Syria and Jordan did not produce the

Its the imperialists had ̂ expected.. More, the p"iib-"ssive changes in South; Yemen and Iraq and the

' rthrow of the monarchy in Libya showed thatj veioprnents were taking quite another course —towards the widening of the anti-imperialist frontand the heightening of Arab national consciousness.On the other hand, the weakening of Israel's exter-nal positions, primarily in its own part of the world,has become more and more obvious. In effect, not asingle country in, the Mediterranean, area any .longerfully endorses, Washington's ..policy of encouragingthe Israeli aggressors. : ... . . , . .,•

38

V

by: Yousef Khatib

The following are, for the most part, selections fromthe October entries of ((Palestine Diary 1971» by YousefKhatib. The entries recall with appropriate comment,important events relating to the Palestine question whichoccurred in the month of October of past years.

Truman and the Palestine Question

(October 4, 1946)

On October 4, 1946, U.S. President Harry S.Truman issued a statement on Palestine supportingZionist claims against the legitimate rights of thePalestine Arabs.

President Truman referred to an invitation by

Rritish Government for the setting up of a jointin-American Committee of Inquiry to help

ileviate the situation of the displaced Jews ine and assist in finding a solution for the dif-

ult and complex problem of Palestine itself.»In his statement, President Truman expressed

gratification that the report of the Anglo-AmericanCommittee of Inquiry made on April 20, 1946,«endorsed his previous suggestion that 100,000 Jewsbe admitted into Palestine.))

He revealed that his Administration ((imme-diately concerned itself with devising ways andmeans for transporting the 100,000 Jews and caringfor them upon their arrival.))

President Truman also revealed the urgent andpractical measures taken on his orders to implementthe report.

He further expressed his Government's fullsupport of a solution (of the Palestine question)along the lines embodied in a Jewish Agency's pro-posal to create «a viable Jewish State in control ofits own immigration and economic policies in anadequate area of Palestine.*

Truman's statement was the subject of twoletters exchanged between the American Govern-ment and King Abdul-Aziz Ibn-Saud of Saudi Ara-bia on October 15 and October 28, 1946.

When Harry Truman became U.S. Presidentfollowing the death of President Roosevelt at theend of World War II, the new administration showed

41

definite hostility to the Arabs of Palestine, becausethe Arabs, as Truman put it, «have no voting powerin the_: United; States.» Since then, the Zionists, haveplayed a decisive role in shaping U.S. Middle Eastpolicy,,; ; -•, •• _ ; : - . - :

...The new American policy was partly caused bylarge-scale Zionist propaganda which impressedworld public opinion, and American public opinionin particular, with,, the view that because the Jewssuffered tremendously in the.Second World War, theZionist movement was entitled to the lion's share inthe victory achieved by the Allies, even at the costof exterminating the people of Palestine who hadfought on the side of the Allies, apparently to esta-blish the state of Israel.

Massacre of Qibya

(October 14, 1953)

At 9.30 p.m., on Wednesday, October 14, 1953,Israeli troops attacked the Jordanian border villageof Qibya, North-West of Jerusalem. Seven hundredregular Israeli troops participated in the attack inwhich mortars, machine guns, rifles and explosiveswere used. Forty-two houses as well as the schooland the mosque of the village were dynamited.Every man, woman and child found by the criminalattackers was killed, all in all seventy five innoccentvillagers were murdered in cold blood that night.

42

the attackers turned their fire on the. cattle; T ' 22 cows. The attack was the bloodiest and

'brutal Zionist crime since the infamous Deir£^ji massacre of 1948. . ; :

Even the pro-Israeli U.S. Government waseked at the brutal massacre. Commenting on it,Department of State issued a statement in which

it said:«The U.S. Government has the deepest sympa-

thy for the families of those who lost their lives inand near Qibya during the recent attack by Israeliforces. The shocking reports which have reached theDepartment of State of the loss of lives and propertyinvolved in this incident convince us that those whoare responsible should be brought to account andthat effective measures should be taken to preventsuch incidents in the future.»

In the Security Council, the Big Powers refusedthe modest Arab request to have the criminalstmnished and the victims compensated. The BigPowers merely «blamed» Israel, the spoilt child ofthe United Nations.

The Tripartite Aggression

(October 29, 1956)

On July 26, 1956, Egyptian President GamalAbdul-Nasser announced the nationalization of theSuez Canal, after this international waterway had

43

been under the control of British and French co!0

nialism for about a century.

The two colonialist powers, Britain and Francereacted to this nationalisation by planning an attackagainst Egypt. But attacking Egypt had to be basedon a pretext; any pretext, for the two colonialiststates to justify their action to world public opinionThe pretext was conveniently provided by Israelthe state implanted in the very heart of the Arabeast for that very purpose.

In his book «The Decadence of Judaism in ourTime,» Jewish writer Moshe Menuhin refers to theTripartite aggression in the following terms: «... Theinvasion of Egypt on October 29, 1956 - a date thatwill live in infamy - was accompanied by a unilate-ral revocation of the Egyptian-Israeli ArmisticeAgreement by Israel. The Security Council of theUnited Nations promptly met on October 30 to exa-mine the aggression by Israel. But the SecurityCouncil was rendered incapable of doing anythingby virtue of the exercise of the veto by Britain andFrance - Israel's accomplices in the war on Egypt.The matter was referred to the General Assembly,which held its first Emergency Special Session fromNovember 1 to November 12. In a series of fourresolutions, the United Nations called upon Israel to((promptly withdraw behind the Armistice Line.» Afew days later, «the United Nations notes with re-gret that according to the communications received

44

Secretary General, no Israeli forces have* e -tn(jrawn, and reiterates its call to Israel to

Iv forthwith with the resolutions.))

a televised broadcast to the American peopleon February 20, 1957, Eisenhower had the

flowing to say on the tripartite aggression:

«This raises a basic question of principle: Shouldnation which attacks and occupies foreign territory

• the face of the United Nations disapproval beHowed to impose conditions on its own withdrawal?

«If we agree that armed attack can properlyachieve the purpose of the assailant, then I fear wewill have turned back the clock of internationalorder. We will, in effect, have countenanced the useof force as a means of settling international diffe-rences and, through this, gaining national advanta-ges.

«I do not myself, see how this sould be recon-ciled with the Charter of the United Nations. Thebasic pledge of all the members of the United Na-tions is that they will settle their international dis-putes by peaceful means and will not use forceagainst the territorial integrity of another state.

«If the United Nations once admits that inter-national disputes can be settled by using force, thenwe will have destroyed the very foundation of theorganization and our best hope of establishing aworld of order. That would be a disaster for us all.

«I would, I feel, be untrue to the standards ofthe high office to which you have chosen me if I

45

were to lend the influence of the United Statesthe proposition that a nation which invades anothshould be permitted to exact conditions for \vitv,drawal.»

Now that Eisenhower's one time Vice-Presi.dent, Richard Nixon has become President, howdoes he compare with President Eisenhower in

rectitude of attitude to the new Zionist aggressionof June 1967?

Massacre of «Kafr Kassem»

(October 29, 1958)

' On the eve of the tripartite aggression (October29, 1956), the Zionist military Governor issued onorder at 4 p.m. imposing curfew on the area of «KafrKassem». The curfew was to come into effect at5 p.m. ' "• - ' •:

Villagers of both sexes and different ages wereworking in the fields outside the village completelyignorant of the curfew order. They were preparingto go back home to have supper with their familiesas they did every day.

But this time, units of the Israeli army werewaiting for them in ambushes-laid outside the vill-age. These units intercepted the homecoming villa-gers, and after reading to them the text of the

order, machine-gunned them indiscrimina-

'e Qn that sad autumn eve, Zionist machine-gunsghtered 50 old men, women and children in the

•11 ge of «Kafr Kassem», thus, adding a new darkae to the Israeli record, which abounds with such

atrocities.The «Kafr Kassem» massacre was perpetrated

without the Israelis feeling there was need for themto find a pretext or to hide behind a mask. In the«Deir Yassin» massacre (9th April, 1948), the Zionistmurderers killed old men, women and children,under the pretext that they were carrying outfield operations!

But in the «Kafr Kassem» massacre, the victimvillage lay within the so-called state of Israel, andnot across the fire line. The only motivation for the«Kafr Kassem» massacre was a cowardly desire tokill unarmed Palestinians. •

47

A B. C.OF THEPALESTINE QUESTION

In connection with the «Palestine SolidarityWeek» organized last May in the capitals of tencountries in five continents, the Art Section of theDepartment of Information and National Guidanceof the Palestine Liberation Organization prepareda series of 33 illustrations which give the basic factsof the Palestine Question.

The following four illustrations are the sixthof eight consecutive batches planned for publicationin «Resistance» issues of May — December, 1971:

48

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ISRAELI BLACK PANTHERS

by: Edmund Ghareeb

Israel's racism is being applied not only against theArabs living under Zionist rule, but also against OrientalJews who constitute more than 60 percent of the Jewishpopulation of Israel. This discriminiation has led to theIsraeli Black Panther movement, which is the subject ofthe following article.

On the eve of March 2, posters were hung onthe walls of western Jerusalem that said the follo-wing:

«We are a group of banished youths appealingto whomever is concerned,

Concerned over the lack of jobs,Concerned over having to sleep ten people in

°ne room,

49

Concerned over seeing houses built only for thenew immigrants,

Concerned over spending their lives in prison,Concerned over the behavior of government

officials,Concerned over discrimination.How long are we going to tolerate this treat-

ment before we shatter the silence? Alone we cando nothing, united we can overcome. We protest toaffirm our right to be full citizens in every sense ofthe word.»

These posters were written and distributed bymembers of the Israeli Black Panthers. The Panthersare a group of disenfranchized marginalized yout

composed of young Sephardic Jews who feel tba-the Oriental Jews are being discriminated again

by the government which favors the Western

50

Ashkenazi Jews. They protested against the privili-ges granted to the Ashkenazi immigrants. The ma-jority of these youths were born Israelis anddescend from North African and Asian Jews.

On March 3, Jerusalem witnessed the firstPanther demonstration to protest against the arrestof Panther leaders and the government's discrimi-natory practices against the Sephardic Jews. In-terestingly enough, some of the demonstratorscarried signs saying: «Are demonstrators only per-mitted in favor of Russian Jews?»

The impact of the demonstration seemed to bes"ght. But three weeks later the Israeli Knessetlecognized the seriousness of the problem and forlhe first time explicitly admitted the existence of

hnic discrimination between the Oriental and'estern Jews. A resolution was passed calling on

51

the government to put an end, within ten years tdiscrimination against the different sects.

This resolution, however, did not put an end toPanther activities.

On Sunday April 19, a group of Panthers triedto address crowds of North African Jews who wereholding the Maimona festivals on the need toorganize themselves politically. They carried signssaying, -Enough discrimination, enough deprivations.They also urged the Oriental Jews to unite and dosomething unless they «want the tragedy to bepassed down to the next generation)). Their effortsto address the crowd, however, were foiled by alarge contingent of the Israeli police who intervenedand forcibly removed the Panthers. The gatheringcrowds appeared, in the words of the ((JerusalemPost» on April 20, to be «clearly hostile to theforceful police intervention.)) On the second day thePanthers were allowed to hold a demonstration toprotest police brutality.

On Tuesday May 19, intermittent fighting andscuffling broke out in Jerusalem after a series ofclashes between the police and the Black Panthers

52

vko were protesting ((discrimination against Orien-tal Jews». The Panthers had asked the police for apermit, but they were refused. The Panthers led bytwo of their leaders Saidya Marciano and YakobAlbaz marched down Jaffa Road and when theywere ordered to disperse by the police they refused.The steel-helmeted police, armed with night sticksand shields, charged into the demonstrators to beatthem. Panthers claimed that the police immediatelybegan striking out wildly and forced them againstrailings on the side of the square. Ten policemenwere reported injured by stones and 74 Pantherswere arrested.

Fifteen Panthers and a small band of strikers'.vent on a hunger strike at the Knesset led byPanther Raft Marciano to protest against the policebrutality and to bring the policemen responsible toh'ial. The Panthers seemed to have split after theriot.

The riots in March and the throwing of Molotovlater on pointed to the seriousness of theand led Mrs. Meir to say, «The Black

- anthers are not nice boys. How can a nice Jew

53

throw Molotov cocktails at another Jew, or atJewish building? Are these nice people?»

More recently, «Maariv» reported on June 16that the Black Panthers took positions in Suk a.\.Kermel in Tel Aviv to prevent the demolition ofbuildings in the Yemeni quarter where they had aclub and charged the authorities with discriminatorytactics against the Yemeni Jews.

The Panthers are not apparently the onlyorganization calling for an end to discriminationagainst the Sephardics. «Maariv», on June 19,reported that a new Organization calling itself the«Black Jewish Lions» called for a meeting to protestthe «way they (government officials) create anddeepen sectarian differences)). Felis Melton, one ofthe Organizers for this meeting is also a BlackPanther Organizer from Tel Aviv. A leaflet wasdistributed calling on the people of Kfar Shalimand Nevishalim to protest against the ((injusticewhich has befallen us». The leaflet charged theauthorities with not doing all they could to improvethe conditions of the Oriental sects, and of onlymaking statements and «empty promises)).

54

The polarization and difference among the' fferent categories of Jews in Israel have led to the. e Of the Panthers and other similar groups con-rned over the fate of the Sephardic Jew. The

,-dstence of discrimination against the Orientaljews seems to be real and unquestionable. MichaelSaltzer, an American Jewish writer told the story ofan English-speaking Indian Jew, who wanted to livein the Hakarim section of Jerusalem where a com-munity of English-speaking Jews lived. He was notable to move into that neighborhood because of theAshkenazi residents' objections. «We will not allowa black man to join us or live next to us.» This state-ment reveals the depth of division and discrimina-tion that permeates certain sectors of the Israelisociety. It sheds some light on the attitude of theWestern Jews toward the Oriental Jews.

Milfred Shapiro, another Jewish writer, refersin his book «Zionists and Sabra» to some WesternJews who refused to even sit on the same table asOriental Jews.

There is little or no intermarriage between thetwo groups because of the difference in education

55

and living standards. The Sephardics who const'more than 50 percent of the Israeli population U

Oriental origin. Most of them are Arab Jews f °North Africa and the Fertile Crescent as well "from some Mediterranean countries and India Th 'however, have very little control over the Isra'veconomic or political institutions. Shaul BeSimchon, chairman of the Moroccan Immigrant,Association, pointed to the lack of real represent^,tion of Oriental Jews. «There is no desire to takesome Oriental Jews "on the election lists except astoken representation and not for real participation*

Ben-Simchon, who was quoted in «Maariv»,added that in Morocco, where he was born in thetown of Baizin, live about 4000 Jews, and that theschool there graduates more Moroccan Jewish stu-dents than Israel does. Only about 500 MoroccanJewish students graduate in Israel, on the averageof 20 a year, while about one hundred Jewishstudents graduate from Morocco every year.

In one of its articles «Haaretz» described theNorth African Jews as a «very primitive peoplewhose absorption into Jewish society is going to bevery difficult)).

56

The absorption of the Oriental Jews into Israeliciety has been very difficult indeed. The Askhke-

"i-dominated Israeli government has found itquite difficult to absorb the Sephardics.

During one of the Panther demonstrations inJerusalem where the protesters were shouting:Enough discrimination. Enough poverty*, andcomplaining about «lack of housing, difficulty offinding work, and discrimination in favor of Westernimmigrants at the expense of the dwellers of poorsections)), Teddy Kolek, western Jerusalem's mayor,was complaining about the demonstrators standingon the grass in the public park.

Not only is there a lack of concern with theproblem, but also there is an attempt to cover it upand explain it away. On Jan. 20, «Maariv» chargedIsraeli circles of trying to cover up the signs of theboiling and to detract from its effects. The growingdisaffection on the part of the poor, uneducated andmarginalized youth led them to form the BlackPanthers modeled after its namesake in the U.S.The Israelis are trying to explain away the problemby accusing the Panthers of being delinquents. OnMay 21 Lea Ben Dor, wrote in the «Jerusalem Post»

57

that the grievance of the Panthers started «with thefact that they were rejected by the army. Theirschool attendance was sketchy in most cases. Somewere ill, others were caught out in petty crimes anddrifted into delinquency; for others hashish providessolace against poverty*.

The Israeli apologists have come to describethe Panthers as a gang. Dr. Eliazar, the director ofthe Social Affairs Department in the Jerusalemmunicipality refused to describe these youth as«gangs» because «they did not belong to Organiza-tions until now, but that they have the potential tobecome a rebellious political force. It is logical thattheir next step will be a political one».

The problem lies in the poverty and poor edu-cation of many of these Jews. Arieh Pincos, thepresident of the International Jewish Agencydeclared that there were about «one quarter millionIsraelis living in a state of poverty, and on theaverage of 12-14 people live in a room and a half».(Jewish Telegraphic Agency March 13, 1971).

Israel of the seventies faces contradictorydesires and a real problem. Israel wants to absorbmore immigrants from the rich and advanced count-

58

,.jes and grant them opportunities that the immi-grants from poor countries would never get. It also•^ants to increase the birthrate among the richfamilies. But the problem is that most of the immi-orants come from the poor countries and they arethe ones who bear the most children, and as a resultthere is the problem of having many children livingin poor crowded rooms.

«Kol Ha'aam» reported on March 18, thatresearch done by the National Insurance Institutereveals that inequality between the Jewish groupsis «on the increase and coming close to resemble thesituation in underdeveloped countries such asMexico, India, and Ceylon». The article in «KolHa'aam» went on to show that the research done bythe Central Statistics Office showed that «a quarterof the Israeli citizens are living on an income ran-ging between 200-500 IL per month. There are also200,000 persons whose family income is about IL.300 per month. The income per family continues todrop vertically in proportion to the rise in familymembers until it reaches the yearly income of IL.880-1617 for a family whose members exceed 6-9persons. The article added that as a result the total

59

leaders came from East European backgroundincome of 10% of the most rich equals the jyof 45% of the most poor.

Another indicative point that was rnentioby the article is the steady decline of the incorn 'oriental Jewish families if it is to be comparedthe income of Ashkenazi families. The drop has be72% to 69% between 1965 and 1969. It also pointedout that 93% of the adolescent crimes are committedby Sephardic youth.

The main areas of discrimination are in lodgingand employment. About 18.3% of Oriental Jews live

more than three persons to one room compared with5.8% of Ashkenazi Jews. 23.8 of the immigrants -whowere born in Africa or Asia work in agriculturecompared to 12.3% of these who were born inEurope and America. In the public services thepercentage of the Oriental Jews is only about 13,9%and 9% in the commercial and financial sectors.More astonishing is the percentage of Oriental Jewsin the high echelons of the Histadrut (GeneralLabor Organization). Less than 1% of them are ofSephardic origin.

Considering the amount of foreign financial aidthat Israel has received and the high level oftechnical know-how, it is astonishing that seriousproblems of education, housing and poverty continueto exist at the present level. The aid received bythe Zionist state has been equal to $10 billion, whichfor a population of slightly over two million peopleis double the national income of Lebanon, Syria and

. together, or the equivalent of what Wes-

;"gyPjrurope got from the U>S- through the MarshallIs3l'n t * the reconstruction of the war-devastatedPlan f01',ntinent.

To an extent it is understandable how theH leaders do not recognize the problem and the

Isl'. usness of it. Many leaders, like Mrs. Meir, are'"t-ii thinking in the terms of getting more immi-"'• nts from the Soviet Union and the West than'. are jn solving the problems of the OrientalT \vs The following incident which was mentioned•n the ((Jerusalem Post», of May 13, illustrates the.joint. The paper reported that students from theHebrew University who discussed the problem ofthe Oriental Jews with Mrs. Meir said that «all of usfelt that she (Mrs. Meir) displayed no sensitivity atall to the problem of Oriental Jews». The studentsasked Mrs. Meir how she could explain to a «motherof a large family at Shmuel Hanavi why a smallernew immigrant family across the road was living ina flat of 100 meters square? Mrs. Meir's reply was«We must start courses in aliya-consciousness amongthe students)). Aliya, means the return or repatria-tion of the Jews in the Diaspora. The students com-plained that Oriental Jews were still being called«Frankim» a derogatory term, and Mrs. Meir said.that she hadn't heard the term in some years.

Part of the problem is that many of the Israeliescape discrimination and were often used toPushing their children to escape from the discrimi-nation by excelling in school and in their work. The

Arab Jews, however, came from different environ-ments where discrimination was not a problem.They, in fact, share the problems of the other Arabsand of under-development in general. The EastEuropean Zionists were dreaming of a democraticand socialist society, and when they built the kibbutzthey thought that they had achieved their goal —unaware that they have built a colonialist society.

This system the government and the partieshave perpetuated themselves without paying anyattention to the currents of change that were goingaround them. The same nine or ten parties that werein existence since the formation of the Zionist stateare still the same and get the same proportion ofseats in the Knesset as they did in the past. Out ofthe 120 deputies who make up the Israeli parliamentonly 17 are of Oriental origins, 72 Western and 33born in Palestine.

The Israeli leaders tried and are constantlytrying to bring immigrants from either the U.S. orRussia where two major Jewish communities exist.The Zionist campaign against the Soviet Union maybe explained partially in this light. They want SovietJews to migrate to Israel in order to stem the ever-increasing percentage of Afro-Asian Jewry in thecountry. More importantly, the Russian or AmericanJews would have the high education and the techni-cal skill desired by the Israelis.

Despite their numerical majority (over 60percent of Israel's Jewish popuation), the OrientalJews have a long way to go before becoming a

62

serious political threat to the Ashkenazi establish-ment.

It was inevitable that the contradictions withinthe Israeli society were going to bring the disen-franchised, the disorganized and the unemployed totake the initiative. The middle and lower classSephardim will not find it easy to effect changeunless they threaten the meager existence they have.

As a result it was the poor, the angry, and theunskilled or semi-skilled Sephardim who in theirsearch for an identity and a place to belong havebegun to organize. Having these listless and impo-verished masses, leads to discontent; this coupledwith organization results in political chaos. It is thisorganization and this future that the Israelis fearmost.

The Panthers and their allies could be brokenand destroyed politically, but there remains theproblem of two different and contradictory culturesliving side by side with the ever increasing gap bet-ween the two continuing to grow. It is the problemthat may shatter the Israeli system—the most fearedby the Israeli leaders themselves. One Israeli leaderis reported to have said that if it was not for thethreat of war with the Arab states. Israel would befacing civil war. It is very unlikely that the Israelis,despite their technical skill and organization, willbe able to solve this problem—a fact which may leadto their downfall. •

63

(September 1971)

On September 1, Palestinian commandos des-troyed air coolers and meteorological instrumentsat an Israeli scientific institute in Haifa, by means ofexplosive charges which they planted at the techni-cal works, destroying scientific installations therein,and killing or wounding a number of militaryspecialists.

On September 1, a commando unit shelled anIsraeli military camp southeast of Kuneitra, in theoccupied Golan Heights. The commandos scoreddirect hits on enemy military installations duringthe shelling, which lasted for one hour.

On September 1, a Palestinian commando hurleda hand grenade at two jeeps belonging to Israelisecurity forces travelling along the main road inKhan Yunis, in the southern sector of the GazaStrip.

On September 1, Palestinian commandos brokeinto a commercial firm at Ashdod, seized 8,000

64

i • nounds and set fire to the building, destroying( * * . . *£rt of it-

On September 2, eleven Israelis were killed ored when explosive charges planted by Pales-commandos in a coffee house in Jerusalem

off-On September 2, a Palestinian commando group

eked an israeii force south of Beit Hanoun, inoccupied Gaza Strip, inflicting several casualties

on enemy soldiers.

On September 3, a bomb planted by Palestiniancommandos in a public park in Jerusalem killed orBounded several Israelis, found in the vicinity atthe time of the explosion.

On September 4, Palestinian commandosambushed Israeli patrols in Gaza and attacked amilitary jeep with hand-grenades destroying thevehicle and killing or wounding its occupants,including a high-ranking officer.

On September 5, Palestinian commandos plan-ted explosives in a block of flats at Affoula. Thecharges went off, setting fire to a flat and killing orwounding occupants.

On September 11, Palestinian commandosshelled two Israeli settlements in the occupied GolanHeights, with heavy rockets, scoring direct hits onenemy installations, when they rocketed the Dibbinand Hittel settlements, destroying several installa-tions.

65

On September 13, an Israeli army vehicle setoff a mine in the occupied Sinai desert, woundingthree soldiers. The mine was planted by Palestiniancommandos near Nahal Beerotayim paramilitarysettlement, about 10 miles south-west of the pre -1967 Israel - Egypt line.

On September 15, a special commando groupplanted several explosive charges in Tel Aviv, inAllenby road. The explosives went off at the settime, destroying several places, including a largecafe. A number of depots were set ablaze, sendingambulances, fire engines and police cars rushing tothe scene. The Israelis suffered heavy losses.

The Israelis however, alleged that «a predawnfire in the Tel Aviv commercial sector left a beachfront nightclub and several shops and offices in thesame building burned to the ground».

On September 19, an Arab commando hurleda grenade into a crowd of Zionist tourists near theTemple Mount in the old city of Jerusalem. Theoperation was in fulfillment of the plan to escalaterevolution operations and to carry them deep intothe occupied territory. It constituted a rebuttal ofthe Zionist claim that «the city was witnessing aperiod of quiet and peace».

On September 23, an Israeli soldier waswounded when a Palestinian commando hurled twohand grenades at an Israeli patrol in a refugee camp,near Gaza. The attack took place in the marketplace of the El Muazi Camp when a taxi suddenlystopped causing the military vehicle travellingbehind it to crash into it.

Two grenades in the meanwhile were hurledfrom the back of the taxi at the patrol. •

67

(September 1971)REVIEW

OF

EVENTS

• U.N. Snubs Israel on Jerusalem

After a series of prolonged discussions held bythe Security Council on the measures taken by Is-rael to Judaize Arab Jerusalem, the Council calledon Israel to rescind all measures taken in the HolyCity which might change its status.

The 15-nation Council, adopted by 14 votes tonil, with one abstention, a resolution asking Secre-tary General U Thant to report back within 60 dayson the implementation of the resolution, and ifnecessary, send a representative or mission to Jeru-salem for this purpose.

The Council deplored the failure of Israel torespect previous resolutions adopted by the UnitedNations concerning measures and actions by Israelpurporting to affect the status of the city of Jeru-salem.

The resolution, proposed by Somalia, was adop-ted after a three-day debate.

It said the Council confirmed that all legisla-tive and administrative actions taken by Israel, tochange the status of the city, including expropria-tion of land and properties, transfer of populationsand legislation aimed at the incorporation of theoccupied sector, «were totally invalid and cannotchange that status».

The Council said, «it urgently calls upon Is-rael to rescind all previous measures and actionsand to take no further steps in the occupied sectionof Jerusalem which may purport to change thestatus of the city or which would prejudice therights of the inhabitants and the interests of theinternational community or a just and lastingpeace».

Syria, which wanted some parts of the resolu-tion strengthened, abstained in the final vote.

In Jerusalem, however, the Israeli Governmentissued a defiant «no» to the resolution demandingthat it halt changes in the status of occupied Jeru-salem.

A Communique, following an Israeli cabinetmeeting on the issue, said the Israelis would notchange their policy to a discussion of the UnitedNations resolution.

In the statement issued by the Israeli Govern-ment, it announced that «it shall receive no repre-sentative or mission sent by the U.N. for the purpose

69

of discussing the matter and that its policy on Tsalem shall not be changed)).

The Israeli representative at the U.N J0

Tekoah announced that his government had madclear during the debate at the Security Council th 'it opposes sending any envoy or delegation to ivestigate facts in Jerusalem.• Suez Ceasefire

During the first half of September a newdevelopment in the situation at the Suez Canal areatook place threatening a flare of fighting and thebreaking of the ceasefire, following the downing ofan Egyptian Sukhoi fighter-bomber by Israelimachine gunners and the shooting down by theEgyptians of an Israeli reconnaissance Stratocruiseraircraft while flying over Egyptian positions.

The Israelis admitted that Egypt shot down anIsraeli plane with a ground-to-air missile while theaircraft was flying over the Israeli-held Sinai desertnear the Suez Canal.

The Israeli military command alleged that theaircraft was brought down while flying about 22kilometers east of the Canal and well behind thefrontline waterway. One crew member parachutedand baled out to safety, but seven other fliers aboardthe plane were killed.

The American-built aircraft crashed about 24kilometers east of the Canal.

Observers saw a risk of a serious escalationover the plane incident that could destroy the fabric

70

Canal ceasefire which had been in forceui& ~ ~ .-.

IQ1. thirteen months." The Israelis charged that the incident was

nned in advance by Egypt and lodged a protest'P -^h the United Nations Truce Observation Organi-^ t'on and a team of U.N. Observers were invited to

see the crash site.

The Israeli Stratocruiser reconnaissance planevas hit and was seen falling in flames about threekilometers inside the occupied Arab territory on theeastern bank of the Suez Canal.

Although the incident passed without reprecus-sions, yet it gave a warning to the internationalcommunity and world public opinion that fightingmay be resumed at any moment. President Sadathad again reaffirmed that Egypt would decide forwar or peace before the end of the year 1971 andthat 1971 shall be a decisive year. He reiterated thefact that Egypt is prepared for the battle and it isable to deal hard blows to the Zionist enemy.

• Jedda Reconciliation Conference

After a series of visits, discussions, efforts, andcontacts with the parties concerned, the Saudirepresentative, minister of State for Foreign Affairs,Omar Saqqaf, and Dr. Hassan Sabri Kholy PresidentSadat's personal representative were able to arrangea meeting between delegations representing theJordanian authorities and the Palestinian Comman-dos in Saudi Arabia to lay down new guidelines forcoexistence, after both the Palestinian and Jordan-

ian sides accepted a work paper presented by SaurTArabia and Egypt.

The first formal meeting between the Palestinian and Jordanian delegates to the Jedda recon-ciliation conference was held on Tuesday Sept. 21following a weeklong series of separate discussionsbetween the Saudi-Egyptian mediating committeeand each of the sides concerned.

It was plain enough from the beginning thatthe stand of each of the two delegations was diffe-rent. For while the resistance delegation insisted onthe full implementation of the Cairo and Ammanagreements with effective Arab guarantees ensuringthe two sides' adherence to the accords and takingthe measures capable of creating the proper atmos-phere to implement the agreements, the Jordaniandelegation was attempting to avoid any commitmentaimed at carrying out provisions of the Cairo andAmman agreements and of respecting the rights ofthe resistance movement to fight the Zionist enemy.

Under the pretext of dealing only with «honestCommandos», the Jordanian delegation revealed its

desire of subjecting commando action to Jordaniancommand. The Jordanian delegation made repeatedattempts «to make the 'fait accompli' in Jordan, thebasis of discussion and demonstrate that the pro-visions of the Cairo and Amman agreements havebeen superseded with the passage of time».

After a series of meetings and contacts betweenthe two parties under the auspices of the mediatingcommittee, Dr. Kholy left Jedda for Cairo. Thebroadcast report said that Dr. Kholy would remainin Cairo, pending the resumption of the Jeddareconciliation conference.

The Jordanian team to the conference headedby Iliad El Miflih, a member of Jordan's house ofrepresentatives returned to Amman.

A statement by the Resistance movementpointed out that responsibility for the «failure ofthe mediation rested with the Jordanian regime»and said that the Arab masses would warn theregime that the Palestine resistance movementwould not give up its right to operate on any Arabterritory. •

73

BOOK REVIEW

THE MAKING OF ISRAEL'S ARMY

The following review of Yigal AHon's book «ThcMaking of Israel's Army» by Elie Shweiry examinespolitical statements made in the book which reveal its truenature as a travesty of facts in favour of sheer propaganda

The Making of Israel's Army _ by Yigal Allon

Published by Sphere Books Ltd. London, 1971.270 pages.

«The Arab population of Palestine, in bothOttoman and British Mandatory times, regardedthemselves as an inseparable part of the Arab peopleas a whole, with special ties with Syria; in thosedays, the Arab national movement itself dennedPalestine as -Southern Syria',» writes Yigal Allon,now Israel's deputy prime minister and minister ofeducation, in his book, «The Making of Israel'sArmy.»

74

tfe concludes that no Palestinian entity hasxisted as a separate national unit, and adds,

-vi n the United Nations decided in 1947 on the" ' -fion of Palestine and the establishment within-•'"'' ^ rritory of two states, a Jewish state and an

5 b one, no Palestinian entity could be found to•-, blish the Arab state-not even one to refuse to1 ngnize the Jewish state and declare war against

:, Aether with the other Arab countries... If thePalestinian Arabs are fired by the aspiration forational self-determination, it can be realized on the

fpst Bank of the Jordan.

Despite the fact that the author makes the re-cervation that he is confining himself in the book tomilitary matters, he takes the liberty, even as acabinet minister to suggest that Jordan was onceran inseparable part of Palestine, and was severediVom it only by a British government decision at thebeginning of the 1920's.»

Hinting at his government's inclination, Allon«oes on to say, «In addition to the original inhabi-tants, who were part of the Arab population of un-divided Palestine, the East Bank now contains ap-proximately the same number of Arabs again-immi-Frants or refugees from Western Palestine. A Pales-tinian nation, if it exists, could therefore be createdn Transjordan. either as a monarchy or as a repu-blic, irrespective of its claims upon Israel.»

Allon traces the origins of the Israeli armywhich is misleadingly called The Israeli defense

75

forces, back to 1912 when the Histadrut Hash(Hashomer Association) «the earliest organiz HJfor self-defense of the Jewish community in Turk- ^Palestine)) was formed.

As early as the 1880s, when the countrystill under Ottoman rule and the Jewish populafnumbered hardly more than a few tens of thousand((local cells had begun to be formed for self-defens° iBut one wonders against whom. Against the indige

nous Arabs and the neighboring Arabs whom th^author describes as enemies? Or against the Otto-mans who most probably had not at the time reali-zed the ultimate aims of Zionism? Or against Nazismwhich had not yet appeared? Hashomer (The wat-chman), which became the forerunner of theHaganah (the Hebrew word for defense) was «toprotect the «very righto of the Jews to live in theHoly Land.

Later this motto became to achieve the Zionistaims in Palestine and to defend the Israeli state.Yet Allon denies the right of the Palestinian Arabsto defend their existence. ((Although some of themembers of the terrorist organizations (fedayeen)may be credited with patriotic motives and personalcourage, they are not entitled to the name of a na-tional resistance movement.)) he writes. «They en-deavor to create a nation by destroying anothernation.» he alleges. But what the Zionists have donein Palestine?

Allon was born in 1918 at Kfar Tabor in LowerGalilee. He grew up in the Haganah. The

76

not subject to the laws of any non-Jewish* er Its existence, its weapons and its activities

'•° . to be kept strictly secret. Whoever violated1 -s principle was liable to pay with his life.

The Zionists were not after a «national home»Palestine, but after a Jewish racial state at leastall Palestine as denned during the British Man-

j te «The planning and development of pioneering"ionist settlement were from the start at least partlyDetermined by politico-strategic needs,» writes Allon",-i-so was in 1948 the commander of the southernfront which occupied the Negev desert, including

and part of the Sinai peninsula.

«The choice of the location of the settlements.for instance was influenced not only by considera-tions of economic viability but also and even chieflyby the needs of local defense overall settlementstartegy (which aimed at ensuring a Jewish politicalpresence in all parts of the country), and by the rolesuch blocks of settlements might play in somefuture, perhaps decisive all-out struggle.

((Accordingly, land was purchased, or more oftenreclaimed, in remote part of the country deep inArab-populated areas and when possible close to thepolitical borders of the country.))

A big question mark hangs around Allon'sstatement that ((Israel's government had deliberatelyand explicitly renounced any aim of territorial ex-pansion.)) Yet he painstakingly, and without much

success, justifies Israel's aggressive wars as «pre

tive counteroffensive.» or «anticipatory Co 6aiP-attack». «This was not to be confused with 6r~ventive war,» he says «A preemptive offensiy 6~justified when it was known for certain th t 9S

actual invasion was about to take place and whthe proof of its imminence was a visible concenttion of aggressive enemy forces. Just as every nat'possessed the inherent right to use arms whattacked, so it had the right to intercept the attackeon his way to the chosen targets

In another place of his book Allon does not re-cognize any serious danger on the part of his Arabenemies. Notwithstanding the advances they hadmade in the social structure, had yet failed toadvance sufficiently in the vital field of militarytechnology ».

After reviewing the feats of the Israeli army,omitiing of course the atrocities committed againstthe Arabs earlier by. its illegal organizations andlater by its regular troops Allon speaks about peacebetween Israel and the Arabs.

He says, ^Military deterrence, however, is notthe only cr even the principal means of advancingpeace. Without Israel's deterrent strength, war wouldbe inevitable; without the power to win, Israelwould be defeated in battle and a defeat wouldmean the end of the national existence of the Jewishpeople. Yet, to achieve peace it is essential to getthe illusory hope of victory out of the heads of theArabs once and for all... peace with security for

78

elt and peace with honor for the Arab states.»last statement leaves many questions unan-

s\vered.Would any one with some knowledge of the

Palestine question believe Yizrael Galili, now mi-nister of information, when he says—as quoted byAllon, «We have no intention of uprooting or dis-possessing the Arabs... and subdue them by thepower of the sword. We have no desire to wage abloody war between the Jewish and Arab peoples,nor do we regard every Arab as an enemy simplybecause he is an Arab. We wish to defend our enter-prises and preserve our honor, but not by violenceand murder,» Comments should better be left to thepeople of the Gaza strip, and to the survivors of theearlier massacres of Deir Yassin and Sammou, onlyto mention two of many instances.

The book, as Michael Howard says in the fore-word, is meant for Allon's own people. Howard alsosays, it is not for foreigners «and least of all forEnglishmen)). «His (Allon's) account of British policyin operating the Mandate and of Jewish resistanceto it is not dispassionate. Nor will it be only Arabreaders who will be somewhat taken aback by hisaccount of the liberation of Arab towns and centersof population in 1948.

«Allon appears no more conscious than themajority of his compatriots of the irony of -Libera-ting' territory from a population which has livedthere for centuries.)) The book in fact can be ridicu-led by Allon's own people because of the travestyof facts in favor of sheer propaganda. • •

79

ISRAEL AND HUMAN RIGHTS

The «Questions and Answers» section of «Resistance»is intended to throw light on the various aspects of thePalestine question and its ramifications. The subject of thesection for this month is Israel's attitude to the humanrights of the inhabitants of the occupied Arab territories.

• What Is Israel's attitude to the human rights ofthe inhabitants of the Occupied Territories?

The United Nations Committee charged withinvestigating Israeli practices affecting the human

80

rjghts of the population of the occupied Arab terri-tories, handed in its report to Secretary-General UThant on the 16th of last month.

The three-man Committee consists of Ambas-sador Amirasinghe of Ceylon as chairman, and ofHussein Nur-Elmi of Somalia and Borut Bohte ofYugoslavia as members. The Committee visitedAmman and Beirut last July to collect evidence forthe report.

An important document submitted to the Com-mittee during its stay in Beirut last July was a me-morandum entitled «Israel and Human Rights 1970-1971.» The memorandum was prepared by the Pales-tine Liberation Organization Research Center.

The memorandum establishes Israel's legalobligation to observe provisions of the Geneva Con-ventions in the territories which it occupied as aresult of its aggression of June 5, 1967. It points outthat Israel was not only one of the signatories ofthe Geneva conventions that were signed on August12, 1949, but also ratified these conventions on July5, 1951.

The second article of the Fourth Geneva Con-vention relative to the Protection of Civilian Per-sons in Time of War, the memorandum points out,reads as follows:

«In addition to the provisions which shall beimplemented in peacetime, the present Conventionshall apply to all cases of declared war or of anyother armed conflict which may arise between theContracting Parties, even if the state of war is not

81

recognized by one of them. The Convention shallalso apply to all cases of partial or total occupati0n

of the territory of a Contracting Party even if ̂said occupation meets with no armed resistance.»

Now, it is a fact that Israel at present occupies

territories that belong to three Arab countriesnamely, the Syrian Arab Republic, the Arab Repu!blic of Egypt and the kingdom of Jordan, and hasbeen in occupation of these territories since June1967. The Syrian and Egyptian lands that are underoccupation are outside the boundaries of MandatoryPalestine, which were recognized by the League ofNations and the United Nations. The West Bank andthe Gaza Strip, on the other hand, are beyond thefrontiers laid down by the Armistice Agreements of1949 that were signed by Israel. Moreover, whenIsrael signed and ratified the Geneva Conventions,it made no reservations with regard to geographicalboundaries within which the Conventions wouldapply.

A careful examination of provisions of Article42 of the Hague Convention and of Article 4 of theFourth Geneva Convention would show that theinhabitants of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, theSinai Peninsula and the Golan Heights are «protec-ted persons)) under the terms of these provisions.

Notwithstanding this, however, Israel hasannounced that it was not bound by the terms ofthe Geneva Conventions and it would not implementthem. Moreover, it has repeatedly declared that i1

would not receive any commissions sent by the

82

• United Nations to investigate conditions of life ofthe inhabitants of the occupied Arab territories,rfhis negative Israeli attitude was deplored by theUN Commission on Human Rights.

Among the excuses given by Israel to justifyits refusal to receive such commissions was the trickof making its cooperation with them conditional ontheir undertaking similar investigation regardingconditions of life of the Jewish minorities living inthe Arab countries. This excuse is false and doesnot hold water inasmuch as the suggested investiga-tion would not fall within the scope of the provisionsof any of the Geneva Conventions.

The civilian population of the territories occu-pied by Israel after the aggression of June5, 1967 also enjoy rights provided for in the UnitedNations Charter and in the Universal Declaration ofHuman Rights. These rights also apply to all Arabsliving in Israel. They were confirmed by SecurityCouncil Resolution of June 14, 1967 which statedthat «essential and inalienable human rights shouldbe respected even during the vicissitudes of war.»

Further confirmation of the rights of the in-habitants of the occupied Arab territories is foundin General Assembly Resolution of July 4, 1967 andin Security Council Resolution of September 27,1968.

The International Conference on Human Rights,which was held in Teheran in May 1968, expressedconcern for the safety, welfare and security of the

inhabitants of the occupied Arab territories. TV,Conference adopted a resolution in which it:

a. Expressed its grave concern for the violatiof human rights in Arab territories occupied foIsrael;

b. Drew the attention of the government OfIsrael to the grave consequences resulting from

disregard of fundamental freedoms and human rightsin occupied territories;

c. Called upon the government of Israel todesist forthwith from acts of destroying homes of theArab civilian population inhabiting areas occupiedby Israel and to respect and Implement the UniversalDeclaration of Human Rights and the Geneva Con-ventions of 12 August 1949 in occupied territories;

d. Affirmed the inalienable rights of all inhabi-tants who have left their homes as a result of theoutbreak of hostilities in the Middle East to return,resume normal life, recover their property andhomes, and rejoin their families according to the pro-visions of the Universal Declaration of HumanRights.

The Committee investigating Israel's violationsof the human rights of the inhabitants of the occu-pied territories has repeatedly tried to enter Israeland inspect conditions of life of these inhabitantsand has been repeatedly denied entrance by theIsraeli authorities. It has already reported on Israel'sflagrant disregard for the Geneva conventions andits continued violations of the rights of the Arabsliving under Israeli rule.

84

The Committee has cited numerous cases ofmurder, torture, inhuman treatment, deportation,destruction of homes and confiscation of private andpublic properties.

But the Israeli crimes which have been repor-ted to the Committee represent only a fraction ofthe crimes committed. Many of the lucky survivorsof Israel's nazism, who are living outside the Israeli-occupied territories, are afraid to tell their storiesto the Committee, even with their names withheld,for fear of retaliation against their relations whoare still living in Zionist-occupied Palestine.

The Committee's report will not end atrocitiesin the occupied Arab territories. Aggressors who arebent on crime and aggression will not be deterredby a report drafted by three honest but helplessmen. The work of the Committee, however, will notbe wasted if the three investigators succeed throughthe United Nations in passing on the information toas many honest men as possible all over the world.

CHAUVINISM AND RACISM IN ISRAEL

by: I. Dadiani

The following is a summary of an article dealing withsome aspects of the racism and chauvinism of Israel, whichis deceptively presented by Zionist propaganda as a «modelof democracy and social justice.* The original articleappeared in the August-1970 issue of the Soviet «Interna-

tional Affairs.»

The ruling quarters in Tel Aviv and the leadersof international Zionism insist that Israel is a modelstate of democracy and social justice. Zionist propa-ganda resorts to its favourite methods of socialdemagogy and downright falsification to conceal thereactionary essence of the political regime esta-blished in that country. The facts, however, tear thesmokescreen into shreds and reveal Israel as a typi-cal police state where authoritarian rule, clericalism,chauvinism and racism reign supreme.

86

A huge role in this country is played by reli-gion. Judaism has actually become the stateideology. Here is what the American Newsweekmagazine has to say about it: «While Israel is notformally a theocracy, Judaism is the state religionand the influence of its religious leaders extends farbeyond the domain of the synagogue. Public trans-portation ceases in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem on theSabbath and air traffic comes to a halt at Lod Air-port. Civil marriage is non-existent, so that evenatheists have to be married in a synagogue. Divorce,adoption and many other civil matters remain underthe jurisdiction of the rabbinate and only theOrthodox interpretation of Judaism is officiallyrecognized)). (Newsweek, Nov. 15, 1965).

' 'Marriages between people of different natio-nalities and religions are prohibited. Civil marriagescontracted by Jews with people of other nationalitiesbefore their arrival in Israel are considered invalid.Children born of «mixed» marriages are regardedas ((illegitimates.

In March 1970, despite the protests of progres-sive public opinion, the Knesset (Israeli Parliament)passed a law which makes race and religion thecriteria in determining the Jewish nationality ofIsraeli citizens. This law, which reminds one of theNazi «racial passports)) based on the notorious «purebloods principle, says that in Zionist-ruled Israelonly he who is born of a Jewish mother or hasembraced Judaism can consider himself a Jew. Itthus legislatively proclaims the racist principle of

87

dividing the Israelis into first- and second-clascitizens, into «clean» and «unclean».

When, a few years ago, the religious and otherultrareactionary circles demanded legislation seenring the racist «doctrine» of citizenship, SupremeCourt member H. Cohen said: «It is a bitter irony Offate that the very same biological and racist theseswhich the Nazis propagated and which inspired thedisgraceful 'Nuremberg laws' should be made thecriteria in officially determining citizenship in

Israel». (Le Monde, March 10, 1966).How the Israeli religious leaders adapt the laws

of hoary antiquity to the present-day conditions inthe country may be gauged by the status of women.They cannot appear as witnesses in the courts of thefirst instance. A childless widow must become thewife of the younger unmarried brother of herdeceased husband. If he is under age, she must waittill he is thirteen, when he can decide her fate.Without the permission of the brother of herdeceased husband, she cannot marry again. In thecase of divorce, the woman forfeits the maternalrights to her sons when they reach the age of six. Awoman has no right to sue for divorce.

The Israeli citizenship laws are impregnatedwith chauvinism and racism. Despite a statementmade by the Jewish Agency in 1946 to the effectthat in the future Jewish state, «Jews will not have... more rights than the non-Jews», the two basiclaws—the Law of Return (1950) and the NationalityLaw (1952), and also the Declaration on the Esta-

blishment of the State of Israel and the 1948 Decreeon Legislation and Administration, establish Israelas a one-religion state. The first law automaticallyrecognizes every Jewish immigrant as a citizen ofIsrael. The second shamelessly discriminates againstthe Arabs living in Israel. Arabs born and living alltheir lives in Palestine are denied Israeli citizenshipif they were not resident at their place of birth onNovember 8, 1948.

Moreover, in accordance with nine emergencylaws, the Israeli authorities confiscated more than100,000 hectares of landv i.e., almost two-thirds of theland belonging to Palestinian Arabs. What is more,they seized the land not only of the Arabs who hadfled during the 1948 war, but that of the peoplewhom they had forbidden to leave the «restrictedareas» and who, consequently, could not go to theirfields and were therefore regarded as «absentees».

While in the territories occupied during thepredatory war in 1967 the Israeli authorities areindulging in regular genocide, which was declareda major crime by the Nuremberg Trial and con-demned in many UN resolutions. In Israel itself theypursue a covert policy of apartheid towards theArab minority in Israel.

Shortly before the aggression against Arabstates in 1967, the Israeli newspaper Lamerhafpublished a letter from a disturbed school-mistressunder the heading of «How Much of the FascistIdeology Has Stuck to Us». This is what she wrote:«We have gone and created a -new Jew', and I often

89

think that there is quite a bit in him that is a d'graceful copy of what our enemies worshipped. Herhe is before us, very much like a youth of Na •Germany, for he has the same pretence of physicalcourage and infinite arrogance.))

Sabri Girys, an Israeli citizen of Arab originwrites in his book The Arabs in Israel, published inBeirut in 1968, that there are 150 discriminatorylaws relating to Arabs in the country. Although the250,000 Arabs account for about 13 percent ofIsrael's population, they hold only 1.5-2 percent ofthe administrative posts and have only seven repre-sentatives in Parliament. Moreover, the few Arabsadmitted to the state apparatus are restricted intheir activity.

The greater part of the unemployed in Israelare Arabs. As a rule, they are used on the mostdifficult and the worst paid jobs. Of the 105 Arabsettlements, almost half have no medical facilities.There are not enough Arab primary schools andteachers, and only 1.5-2 percent of the students ofhigher educational institutions are Arabs.

Even the Tel Aviv bourgeois newspaperHaaretz was once forced to admit that «the policytowards the Arabs in Israel may be compared onlyto the policy towards the Indians in the UnitedStates last century».

Racism has penetrated so deep into Israelisociety that even the Jewish population is almostofficially divided into several groups—into what are*in fact, castes. First, into «whites» and «blacks».

«Black» Jews, or Sephardi (about 42 percent of thepopulation), who came to Israel from Afro-Asiancountries, are treated as «underdeveloped». They arediscriminated against, they are given generally thehardest jobs and are underpaid. Half of them areunskilled workers and what they earn comes to onlythree-quarters of the country's average per capitaincome. Marriages between «white» and «black»Jews are almost as rare as those between white andblack Americans. The children of «black» Jewsaccount for 60 percent of the pupils of primaryschools, 25 percent of the pupils of secondaryschools, and only 8 percent of the students of thehigher educational institutions.

There are very few Sephardi in the govern-ment institutions. A few years ago, one of theleaders of the ruling Mapai (now Mai) party, a,manof Moroccan origin, said: «You are discriminatingagainst us because you hate those who were born inthe East. Don't forget what happened in Los Angelesand Alabama)).

Like the Arab popuation; the Sephardi refuseto reconcile themselves to being discriminatedagainst and deprived of their rights. They arefighting for them. Hundreds of Israeli citizens ofNorth African and Middle East origin staged de-monstrations in Jerusalem in spring this year. Thedemonstrators, members of the Israeli BlackPanthers organization, demanded better housingconditions, fair wages, and an end to discrimination.They bitterly attacked the government. •

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Security Council Resolutionon Jerusalem

On September 25, 1971, the U.N. Security Counciladopted a resolution condemning Israel's policy aimed atJudaizingr Jerusalem and urgently calling upon Israel «torescind all previous measures and actions and to take nofurther steps in the occupied section which may purport tochange the status of the city.» The full text of the resolutionis given below:

Full Text of ResolutionThe Security Council:Recalling its resolutions 252 (1963) and 267

(1969) and the earlier General Assembly resolutions2253 (es-v) and 2254 (es-v) of July 1967 concerning

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measures and actions by Israel designed to changethe status of the Israel-occupied section of Jeru-salem,

Having considered the letter of the PermanentRepresentative of Jordan on the situation in Jeru-salem and the reports of the Secretary-General(S/8052,S/8146,S/9149 and add. 1, S/9537 and S/10124and add 1 and 2), and having heard the statementsof the parties concerned on the question,

Reaffirming the principle that acquisition ofterritory by military conquest is inadmissible,

Noting with concern the non-compliance byIsrael with the above-mentioned resolutions andthat Israel has taken further measures designed tochange the status and character of the occupiedsection of Jerusalem,

1. Reaffirms Security Council resolutions 252and 267.

Z. Deplores the failure of Israel to respect theprevious resolutions adopted by the UN concerningmeasures and actions by Israel purporting to affectthe status of the city of Jerusalem.

3. Confirms in the clearest possible terms thatall legislative and administrative actions taken byIsrael to change the status of the city of Jerusalemincluding expropriation of land and properties,transfer of populations and legislation aimed at theincorporation of the occupied section, are totallyinvalid and cannot change that status.

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4. Urgently calls upon Israel to rescind pre

vious measures and actions and to take no furthe-steps in the occupied section of Jerusalem whi^hmay purport to change the status of the city Orwhich would prejudice the rights of the inhabitantsand the interests of the international community, ora just and lasting peace.

5. Requests the Secretary General, after con-sultation with the President of the Security Counciland using such instruments as he may choose, in-cluding a representative or a mission, to report tothe Security Council as appropriate, and in anyevent within 60 days, on the implementation of thisresolution. • 9

Mf

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WorldZionism

20TH CENTURY CRUSADEBy: As'ad Arabi

One thousand years ago, European Crusadersinvaded our land, ostensibly to save the Holy Se-pulchre of Christ from «the heretical Moslems».The Palestinian Arabs —• Moslems and Christians —are now the victims of a contemporary EuropeanCrusade, the crusade of the 20th Century whichraises as symbol, not the Cross but the Zionist shieldof David.

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