MA 02154 WALTHAN 1084 X08 Od BRANDEIS UNIVERSITY JEFFREY COOK 100 OBOTEO SHOFAR B'nai B'rith Youth Organization ALEPH ZADIK ALEPH (AZA) B'NAI B'RITH GIRLS (BBG) AP OLIVE BRANCH 17 17 DECEMBER, 1974 by Zev Furst Director, Middle Eastern Affairs Anti-Defamation League of B'nai B'rith The "Palestinian problem" has become the number one issue in the Middle East with a number of articles being published in national magazines and local newspapers. Many of these adopt the Arabs on- going propaganda approach which stresses, with some degree of success, the following points: 1. that the Palestinian problem was caused primarily by Israel, and Israel is singularly responsible to find a solution. In short, since Israel "evicted" the Palestinians from their homes and "stole" their land, the Jewish state is to blame for the plight of Palestinian refugees and for the frustration which the Palestinians harbor; 2. that the slogan "recognition of the legitimate rights of the Palestin- ians" is now accepted in certain quarters both in the media and in public discussion; 3. that the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) is the sole and legitimate spokesman of all Palestinians throughout the world; 4. that the Palestinian goal of a "secular democratic state in Pales- tine" does not really entail the destruction and dismantling of the Jewish state. BBYO members must be equipped to answer these anti-Israel propaganda arguments fully. This article should be helpful in that task. Editor Israel recognizes and profoundly understands the existence of a Palestinian prob- The PLO Solution to the Palestine problem is lem. But Israel knows that its solution must be part of the overall settlement of the the Creation of a Single Secular Democratic State. Aiab-Israel conflict; and also that without a solution to the Palestinian problem In truth, the slogan "secular democratic state" is a catchword by which the PLO there cannot be a just and lasting solution to the entire Arab-Israel conflict. means an end to Israel, because secular democratic state, ipso facto, requires the At the core of the Palestinian problem is the fact that it is a political issue and is dismantling of the Jewish state. Further, it is foolish to believe that the Palestinians tied to the central question of whether the Arab states are prepared to recognize the are actually seeking a secular state. The Lahore Conference, which recognized the existence of an independent and sovereign Jewish state in the Middle East. The real PLO, was a conference of Moslem states. The Arab states which support the PLO are issue is not what Arab propagandists are attempting to foist on the American people all Moslem states. No religious Moslem can advocate a secular state. Obviously, in through the use of slogans or deceptive argumentation. their propaganda campaign the Arabs understand that "secular democratic state" It is not a problem of a people or nation which was forcibly evicted from their has an appeal to the Western world. traditional homeland; most Palestinians today are still living in the area of Palestine that existed under the British mandate. Indeed, 70 percent of the Palestinians today Palestinian State on West Bank are living on the same land which they have occupied for decades. The establishment by PLO of a Palestinian state on the West Bank of the Jordan It is not essentially a problem of refugees. The number of refugees living in will mean the establishment of a state determined to fight against the right of the refugee camps according to the United Nations' statistics is 450,000, while there are continued existence and sovereignty of both Israel and Jordan. Another result will be 2.8 million Palestinians living elsewhere throughout the world-1,000,000 in Jordan, the likely introduction of Soviet missiles 15 miles from Tel Aviv. 650,000 on the West Bank of the Jordan, 350,000 in Gaza and 800,000 in Syria, Finally, most of the Palestinians on the West Bank and in Jordan are opposed to Kuwait, Lebanon, etc. Clearly, the overwhelming majority of Palestinians live in the creation of a state under the leadership of the Palestine Liberation Organization. Jordan and the West Bank of the Jordan- not in refugee camps. It is not a problem of a people who do not have homes, because the majority of THE ISRAELI POSITION the Palestinians today live in their own homes-in Jordan, on the West Bank, or Israel has determined its policy regarding the Paléstinians with the following outside of what was formerly the British mandate. factors in mind: (a) The majority of the Palestinians are Jordanian citizens. Legitimate Rights of the Palestinians (b) The majority of Jordanian citizens are Palestinians. (c) Jordan, therefore, is the state with the largest Palestinian identity. The prob- There is a significant difference between what Arab spokesmen and what the lem of Palestinian identity and Jordanian identity are therefore bound one with pro-Arab apologists in America mean by this slogan. When Arab spokesmen refer to another and cannot be separated. Indeed, there is a historical basis for this: "legitimate rights of the Palestinians" they intimate that these can only be realized The British mandate consisted of both sides of the Jordan River, and only im- at the expense of the independence and sovereignty of Israel. perialist considerations were involved in the British decision in 1922 to partition The pro-Arab apologists usually imply or assert that the Palestinian problem can both sides of the Jordan River into two separate entities. This separation lasted only be solved without the dismantling of Israel. Thus, whenever Arab spokesmen speak from 1922 until 1948, and then the West Bank was combined with the territory east about the Palestinians, they should be pressed to state publicly whether by the of the Jordan. In fact, representatives of the people living on the West Bank met in "legitimate rights of the Palestinians" they mean the dismantling or alteration of Jericho in 1948 and requested union with King Abdullah of Transjordan. In short, Israel as a Jewish state. they demanded annexation of the West Bank with Transjordan and the reunification was accomplished by the military seizure of the West Bank by Abdullah. (d) There are societal, family, cultural and economic ties between the Arabs The Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) living west of the Jordan River and those living east of the Jordan River. Witness the as Sole Spokesman of the Palestinians success of the "open bridges" policy of Israel during the last five years. The Palestine Liberation Organization is not a democratically elected body Israel accepts the fact that Arabs-both Palestinians and Jordanians-would like representative of the Palestinians. It was founded in 1964 by the League of Arab self-identity and self-expression. But it supports the concept only in the context of States. In a summit meeting in Algiers of the League of Arab States in 1973, the peace and good neighborly relations. This identity might be expressed in a Jordanian- League recognized the PLO as the sole spokesman of the Palestinians. They alone Palestinian state which would be a neighbor of Israel. However, Israel does not recognized the PLO as the sole spokesman without ever having consulted the Pales- believe it is her obligation to determine how this identity should be expressed or tinians living either in Jordan, or on the West Bank, or outside of that area. whether this state is to be called Jordan, Palestine or Jordan-Palestine. But, Israel The goals of the Palestine Liberation Organization as enunciated in the Pales- opposes the creation of another Arab state in addition to Jordan in the area. tinian Covenant of 1968 and reaffirmed in the Ten Points adopted by the PLO in Israel sees no valid reason for their being two Arab states in the area both of Cairo (June 1974) are twofold: the elimination of Israel and the elimination of Jordan. which have a strong Palestinian identity. Most Palestinians also prefer one state of The primary activities of the Palestine Liberation Organization and its member their own rather than two separate states neither of which can be viable without the groups are terrorist actions directed against Israel. Equally to blame for these activi- other. (Even if a few of the Palestinians continue to proclaim separation, this should ties are Arab states which continue to aid, abet, and give sanctuary to the PLO and be viewed only as a tactical step on their part.) other terrorist bands. 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