PROPOSED PARTITION OF PALESTINE WAS SUBJECTED SUNDAY NIGHT TO A SEARCHING ANALYSIS BY DR. MAURICE J. KARPF, AMERICAN NON-ZIONIST MEMBER OF THE EXECUTIVE OF THE JEWISH AGENCY FOR PALESTINE, ADDRESSING THE CLOSING SESSION OF THE MIDWEST REGIONAL CONFERENCE OF THE NATIONAL COUNCIL OF FEDERATIONS AND WELFARE FUNDS.
EMPHASIZING THAT HE WAS SPEAKING UNOFFICIALLY, DR. KARPF SUMMARIZED BOTH THE ZIONIST AND NON-ZIONIST VIEWPOINTS ON THE BRITISH PLAN TO DIVIDE THE HOLY LAND INTO INDEPENDENT JEWISH AND ARAB STATES AND A BRITISH-MANDATED CORRIDOR. HIS AIM, DR. KARPF SAID, WAS AN OBJECTIVE, IMPARTIAL PRESENTATION OF THE FACTS CONCERNING PARTITION, ENABLING AMERICAN JEWS TO GIVE THE MATTER THE TYPE OF CONSIDERATION IT DESERVES SO THAT THEY MIGHT INFLUENCE THE FINAL DECISION.
DR. KARPF PREFACED HIS SUMMARY WITH A GLOWING TRIBUTE TO THE LATE FELIX M. WARBURG’S INTEREST, DEVOTION AND SELF-SACRIFICING EFFORTS ON BEHALF OF JEWRY EVERYWHERE. HE EMPHASIZED THAT IT WAS MR. WARBURG’S WISH THAT AMERICAN JEWS BE INFORMED OF THE PROBLEMS FACING PALESTINE AND THAT, IN LOYALTY TO HIS MEMORY, HE WAS UNDERTAKING THE DIFFICULT TASK.
THE ZIONIST POSITION
ANALYZING THE ZIONIST POSITION, DR. KARPF SAID THE “JA-SAGERS” (YES-SAYERS, TERM USED AT THE ZURICH CONGRESS TO DESCRIBE PRO-PARTITIONISTS) FAVORED PARTITION FOR THESE REASONS:
1–IT SEEMED THE ANSWER TO JEWISH PRAYERS FOR ALMOST 2,000 YEARS;
2–IT SEEMED THE UNEXPECTED CULMINATION OF 40 YEARS’ WORK SINCE THE FIRST ZIONIST CONGRESS;
3–IT WOULD NORMALIZE THE POSITION OF JEWS, A MINORITY EVERYWHERE; BY HAVING THEIR OWN STATE, THEY WOULD HAVE A VOICE IN THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS AND THROUGH ITS REPRESENTATIVE THERE COULD OBJECT TO JEWISH DISCRIMINATION WITHOUT BEING OBLIGED TO BEG OTHERS TO DO SO.
FEARED DELAY
THE ZIONISTS FEARED, DR. KARPE SAID, THAT UNLESS THEY ACTED FAVORABLY NOW THEY MIGHT LOSE THE OPPORTUNITY LATER, BECAUSE THE HISTORY OF PALESTINE SINCE THE BALFOUR DECLARATION CONTAINED MANY INSTANCES OF REDUCING JEWISH HOPES AND OPPORTUNITIES THERE BY THE BRITISH.
HE CITED THE FIRST PARTITION OF PALESTINE WITH THE LOSS OF TRANSJORDAN, AND THE LIMITATION OF IMMIGRATION, FIRST THROUGH THE PRINCIPLE OF ECONOMIC ABSORPTIVE CAPACITY, NOW THROUGH THE NEW PRINCIPLE OF A POLITICAL HIGH-LEVEL AND THE PROPOSED NEW LAND-SALE LAWS.
“THE ZIONISTS FEAR THE PRESENT OFFER WILL BE WITHDRAWN OR REDUCED LATER,” DR. KARPF CONTINUED. “THEY REALIZE AS NEVER BEFORE THAT BRITAIN IS MOTIVATED BY IMPERIAL INTERESTS RATHER THAN THE DESIRE TO BE HELPFUL TO THE JEWS. IF NECESSARY FOR THE BRITISH TO APPEASE THE ARABS DURING A MEDITERRANEAN WAR, THEY MIGHT DO SO AT THE EXPENSE OF THE JEWS.
“THE ZIONISTS ARE IMPELLED TO A FAVORABLE CONSIDERATION ALSO BY THE FEAR THAT THEY MAY LOSE THE CONFIDENCE OF JEWS THROUGHOUT THE WORLD BECAUSE OF DISAPPOINTMENT WITH THE RESULTS OF 40 YEARS OF EFFORT AND INVESTMENT OF OVER $400,000,000, AND ENERGIES AND FUNDS MIGHT BE DIVERTED FROM PALESTINE TO OTHER OUTLETS FOR IMMIGRATION.
“THEY ARE SUBJECTED TO GREAT PRESSURE BY IMMIGRATION NEEDS AND THE CRITICAL CONDITION OF PALESTINE BECAUSE THE CONTINUED UNCERTAINTY THREATENS THE ECONOMIC STRUCTURE. MANY ALSO FEEL IF THEY HAD A JEWISH STATE THEY WOULD BE IN A BETTER BARGAINING POSITION WITH THE ARABS AND MIGHT BE ABLE TO GET MORE TERRITORY IN CASE OF WAR.
“THESE ARE POWERFUL CONSIDERATIONS AND MUST NOT BE UNDERESTIMATED.”
WHAT ZIONIST “NEIN-SAGERS” SAY
ANALYZING THE POSITION OF THE “NEIN-SAGERS” (NO-SAYERS) AMONG THE ZIONISTS, DR. KARPF SAID:
“THEY (THE’ NEIN-SAGERS’) UNDOUBTEDLY CONSIDERED THESE AND OTHER ARGUMENTS AND DECIDED AGAINST PARTITION BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE THE JEWISH STATE PROPOSED UNSOUND ECONOMICALLY AND POLITICALLY. THEY ASSUME HERE A SIMILAR POSITION TO THE AMERICAN NON-ZIONISTS.
“OTHERS OPPOSE PARTITION BECAUSE THEY CLAIM THE WHOLE OF PALESTINE AND HOLD WEIZMANN HAS ALREADY CONCEDED TOO MUCH AND A STAND MUST BE MADE EVEN FOR WHAT IS ALREADY LOST, TRANSJORDAN.
“THESE VIEWS, TOO, DO NOT TAKE LIGHTLY, BECAUSE THEY ARE HELD BY SOME LEADING ZIONISTS, NAMELY, USSISHKIN, STEPHEN WISE, ABBA SILVER, MACK, BRANDEIS, SZOLD, BRODY, JABOTINSKY AND ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS MIZRACHI, THE REVISIONISTS, HASHOMAR HAZAIR, HADASSAH.
“IN ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL VIEWS, THE ‘NEIN-SAGERS’ ARE CLOSE TO THE AMERICAN NON-ZIONISTS; IN INTRANSIGEANCE, SOME HOLD SIMILAR VIEWS TO THOSE OF THE ARABS.”
THE NON-ZIONIST POSITION
OUTLINING THE POSITION OF NON-ZIONISTS, DR. KARPF SAID:
“PROBABLY A MAJORITY OF THE EUROPEAN NON-ZIONISTS ARE ZIONISTS AND WERE FOR PARTITION FOR THE SAME REASONS AS THE ZIONISTS. THE AMERICAN NON-ZIONISTS, WITH ONE EXCEPTION, AND SOME ENGLISH AND GERMAN NON-ZIONISTS OPPOSED PARTITION. MANY TOOK THE POSITION BECAUSE THEY WERE OPPOSED ON PRINCIPLE TO A JEWISH STATE. WHEN THEY ENTERED THE AGENCY THEY DID SO BECAUSE THEY WANTED TO HELP IN UPBUILDING PALESTINE AS A REFUGE AND A CULTURAL CENTER. THEY NEVER EXPECTED, AND NEITHER DID THE ZIONISTS, THAT THE PROBLEM OF A JEWISH STATE WOULD BE FACED IN THEIR LIFETIME.”
“THEY DID NOT WISH TO BE FORCED INTO A JEWISH STATE AGAINST THEIR PRINCIPLES, BECAUSE THEY ENTERED THE AGENCY TO HELP PALESTINE. THEY OBJECT ALSO TO THE STATEMENT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION HAT PALESTINE WAS PROMISED TO THE JEWS IN ORDER TO OBTAIN SUPPORT FOR THE ALLIES. THEY MAINTAIN JEWS IN THE ALLIED COUNTRIES WERE LOYAL TO THE ALLIES AS GOOD CITIZENS, AND THOSE IN THE CENTRAL POWERS WERE NOT WON BY THE PROMISE OF PALESTINE. NONE HAD THE AUTHORITY TO STRIKE SUCH A BARGAIN IN BEHALF OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE. NO PERSON OR ORGANIZATION COULD SPEAK IN THE NAME OF THE ENTIRE JEWISH PEOPLE. “SIMILARLY THEY REJECT THE STATEMENT OF THE ROYAL COMMISSION, THAT THE JEWS AND ARABS CANNOT LIVE TOGETHER. THEY MAINTAIN THAT THE JEWS ARE LOYAL CITIZENS, LAW-ABIDING, AND THAT DIFFICULTY IS WITH HYPER NATIONALISTS WHO ARE CREATING TROUBLE.
HELD ECONOMICALLY UNSOUND
“ALONG ECONOMIC LINES, THE OBJECTIONS TO PARTITION ARE MORE FUNDAMENTAL. ASSUMING SUBSTANTIAL ADDITIONS TO THE PROPOSED BOUNDARIES WILL NOT BE OBTAINED BECAUSE OF POPULATION DISTRIBUTION, THE NON-ZIONISTS SEE LITTLE OPPORTUNITY OF DEVELOPING A SOUND JEWISH ECONOMY IN THE PROPOSED STATE.
“OF APPROXIMATELY 4,000,000 DUNAMS OF ARABLE LAND IN THE JEWISH AREA, MORE THAN 3,000,000 ARE IN ARAB HANDS. TO PURCHASE THIS LAND, EVEN AT THE LOW FIGURE OF £10 PER DUNAM, WOULD REQUIRE $1,200,000,000. TO LEAVE THE ARABS THERE MEANS TO BEGIN A STATE WITH A LARGE ARAB MINORITY AND WITH LIMITED IMMIGRATION POSSIBILITIES. IT WOULD MEAN ALSO AN INADEQUATE JEWISH AGRICULTURAL HINTERLAND, THUS EXPOSING THE JEWS TO THE DANGER OF STARVATION OR EXTERMINATION IN WAR.
“THE NON-ZIONISTS HAVE ANALYZED WEIZMANN’S STATEMENT AT THE CONGRESS THAT THE JEWISH STATE WOULD ACCOMMODATE 100,000 IMMIGRANTS YEARLY FOR TEN YEARS. ACCORDING TO DAVID BEN-GURION’S STATEMENT AT THE LUCERNE CONGRESS IN 1935, SOUND JEWISH ECONOMY REQUIRES ONE THIRD OF THE JEWISH POPULATION TO BE IN AGRICULTURE. OF 100,000 IMMIGRANTS ANNUALLY, 8,250 FAMILIES REQUIRING APPROXIMATELY 200,000 DUNAMS WOULD BE SETTLED ON THE LAND. LAND AND SETTLEMENT, ACCORDING TO PRESENT KNOWN FIGURES, WOULD REQUIRE FORTY TO FIFTY MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY.
BILLION SEEN NEEDED IN 20 YEARS
“IN TWENTY YEARS, SUCH IMMIGRATION WOULD REQUIRE A BILLION DOLLARS. WHERE WOULD THE MONEY COME FROM?
“AT THE RATE OF 200,000 DUNAMS PER YEAR FOR TWENTY YEARS, MORE LAND WOULD BE REQUIRED THAN IS NOW OWNED BY ARABS IN JEWISH TERRITORY. AT THIS RATE OF IMMIGRATION, UNLESS MUCH LARGER TERRITORY IS AVAILABLE, PALESTINE WOULD HAVE A POPULATION DENSITY ALMOST TWICE AS HIGH AS BELGIUM AND ENGLAND, TWO OF THE MOST DENSELY POPULATED COUNTRIES IN EUROPE.”
OUTLINING THE NON-ZIONIST VIEW REGARDING INDUSTRIAL LIMITATIONS OF THE PROPOSED STATE, DR. KARPF SAID:
“BECAUSE OF THE LACK OF RAW MATERIALS, ADEQUATE MOTIVE POWERS, AND THE NEED FOR EXPORTING MANUFACTURED PRODUCTS FOR THE PURCHASE OF RAW MATERIALS, PALESTINE IS FORCED TO COMPETE WITH COUNTRIES HAVING LOW STANDARDS OF LIVING, WITH THE RESULT THAT THE LIVING STANDARD IN PALESTINE IS NO HIGHER THAN NOW IN POLAND.
“THIS MIGHT PRECLUDE THE POSSIBILITY OF CULTURAL DEVELOPMENTS FOR WHICH EVERY BODY HOPED.”
EARLY BANKRUPTCY SEEN
TURNING TO THE POLITICAL SITUATION, DR. KARPF SAID NON-ZIONISTS WERE “VERY UNEASY ABOUT THE TYPE OF GOVERNMENT, THEIR TREATMENT OF MINORITIES, SOURCES OF REVENUE, TAXATION AND THE POSSIBILITY OF DRIVING JEWISH MANUFACTURERS INTO ARAB OR BRITISH TERRITORY BECAUSE TAXES WOULD UNDOUBTEDLY BE LOWER; ABOUT THE NEED FOR A LARGE STANDING ARMY ON THE LONG, ALMOST INDEFENSIBLE ARAB-JEWISH BORDER, COSTING CONSERVATIVELY BETWEEN TEN AND FIFTEEN MILLION DOLLARS ANNUALLY, AND THE LIMITED REVENUE FROM TOURIST TRADE BECAUSE THE PRINCIPAL PLACES OF INTEREST AND THE PORTS OF ENTRY WOULD BE CONTROLLED BY THE BRITISH.”
“NON-ZIONISTS,” HE SAID, “SEE THE SPEEDY BANKRUPTCY OF THE JEWISH STATE BECAUSE IT IS UNSOUND IN ITS ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL SET-UP. THEY ALSO SEE INCESSANT WARFARE BETWEEN THE ARABS AND JEWS BECAUSE TWO IRREDENTIST MOVEMENTS WOULD BE CREATED AS A RESULT OF ARTIFICIAL PARTITION.”
DR. KARPF CALLED ATTENTION TO THE EFFECTS OF PARTITIONS THAT TOOK PLACE AFTER THE WAR AND THE “ENDLESS DIFFICULTIES THEY BROUGHT TO THE WORLD.” HE CONTINUED:
“NON-ZIONISTS ARE ALSO AFRAID OF WHAT CREATION OF A JEWISH STATE WILL DO TO THE JEWISH POSITION IN OTHER COUNTRIES. SINCE PALESTINE CANNOT POSSIBLY BE SELF-SUPPORTING, IT WILL BE OBLIGED TO APPEAL TO THE JEWS OF THE REST OF THE WORLD. THIS, AND THE POSSIBILITY OF THE JEWISH REPRESENTATIVE OF THE LEAGUE OF NATIONS RAISING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TREATMENT OF JEWS IN OTHER COUNTRIES, WILL BRING THE CHARGE OF DIVIDED LOYALTIES. IT MAY MEAN THAT MANY JEWS WILL BE FORCED TO REPUDIATE THE JEWISH STATE, WITH CONSEQUENT STRIFE AND CONFLICT IN JEWISH COMMUNITIES THROUGHOUT THE WORLD.
“NON-ZIONISTS ARE NO LESS CONCERNED WITH THE DANGER TO LOCAL AND OVERSEAS WORK, WHICH MUST CONTINUE BECAUSE OF THE LIMITED POSSIBILITIES OF PALESTINE AND BECAUSE OF THE HEAVY DEMANDS FOR FUNDS WHICH PALESTINE WILL MAKE.”
DR. KARPF OUTLINED THE JEWISH AGENCY MEETING IN ZURICH LAST AUGUST AND DESCRIBED GRAPHICALLY THE STRUGGLE OF THE AMERICAN AND SOME EUROPEAN NON-ZIONISTS, UNDER THE LEADERSHIP OF WARBURG, AGAINST PARTITION.
“OPINIONS DIFFER,” HE SAID, “ON WHAT WAS ACCOMPLISHED, BUT EVERYONE AGREES THEY RENDERED AN IMPORTANT SERVICE IN EMPHASIZING BEFORE THE WORLD THAT THE JEWS WERE EAGER TO ARRIVE AT AN UNDERSTANDING WITH THE ARABS.”
WARBURG ALTERNATIVE BEING STUDIED
DISCUSSING THE FUTURE, DR. KARPF SAID:
“NO ONE KNOWS WHAT WILL HAPPEN. THE BRITISH GOVERNMENT AND SOME ZIONIST LEADERS SEEK TO GIVE THE IMPRESSION WITHOUT COMMITTING THEMSELVES THAT PARTITION IS NOT COMING. MANY ANTI-PARTITIONISTS BELIEVE THIS TO BE AN ATTEMPT TO LULL THEM INTO A FALSE SENSE OF SECURITY. THEY KNOW THEY CANNOT FIGHT PARTITION BY NEGATION, BY SAYING THEY WON’T ACCEPT IT.
“THEY MUST HAVE ALTERNATIVE PROPOSALS AVOIDING SOME OF THE PRESENT DIFFICULTIES AND REASONABLY ACCEPTABLE TO ALL PARTIES. MANY ARE NOW ENGAGED IN WORKING ON ALTERNATIVES. WARBURG WORKED OUT ONE SUCH PROPOSAL WHICH IS NOW BEING STUDIED.
“MEANWHILE,” DR. KARPF CONCLUDED, “IT IS ESSENTIAL THAT THE JEWISH PEOPLE IN THIS COUNTRY KNOW ALL THE FACTS AND VIEWS OF THE CONTENDING PARTIES. NEITHER MAY HAVE THE NECESSARY OBJECTIVITY AND PERSPECTIVE, BECAUSE EMOTION SURROUNDS THE SUBJECT, TO GIVE IT THE KIND OF THOUGHT IT SHOULD HAVE. JEWS ARE FACING ONE OF THE MOST CRUCIAL TESTS IN THEIR ENTIRE HISTORY. IT MAY BE GIVEN TO AMERICAN JEWS TO PLAY THE LEADING PART ONE WAY OR THE OTHER. IT IS AT THIS TIME THAT WE SHALL MISS WARBURG MOST.”
The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
