The United Nations General Assembly today completed the first month of its present session with the solution of the Palestine problem still in doubt, although the foes of partition are reeling from the blows delivery the United States and the Soviet Union.
The chief difficulty lies in the fact that the fate of partition will depend on whether or not the big powers reach an agreement on the boundary lines between the Jewish and Arab states, as well as on the machinery for implementation of partition. It is felt that while Russia’s attitude toward partition is similar to the one taken by the United States, there might not be as much agreement with regard to the methods of implementation.
Both the Soviet Union and the United States were severely criticized today in statements by representatives of Yemen and Lebanon at the Ad Hoc Committee.
The Lebanese said that the American statement at the Ad Hoc Committee “had a ?etallic ring” and implied that it was favorable to the Jews because of the forthcoming Presidential elections. As to Russia, he said, it is obvious from the Soviet statement that the U.S.S.R. wants to creats in the Middle East a situation similar to that in the Balkans.
LEBANON AGAINST INCLUSION OF GALILEE IN JEWISH STATE, ADMISSION OF CHILDREN
The Lebanese delegate opposed the Uruguayan proposal to include western Galile? in the projected Jewish state and to admit 30,000 Jewish children and their parents and guardians to Palestine immediately. He also took issue with the statements by the representatives of Czechoslovakia, Poland and other countries favoring partition.
Indicative of the mood of the Arab delegations is the fact that Syria suddenly introduced a resolution for the establishment of a U.N. trusteeship for all of Palestine. This followed the submission by Iraq of a proposal that the International Court of Justice pass judgment on the legality of the promise made to the Jews in the Balfo? declaration and the Palestine Mandate, and whether the British had or had not included Palestine in the areas promised to Arabs 30 years ago.
These and other proposals submitted by various delegations will be dealt with nearly next week when the general debate is over and a sub-committee is appointed to discuss details of the partition scheme recommended by the UNSCOP majority. The sub-committee will report to the Ad Hoc Committee no later than October 27, as suggested by the American delegation.
Meanwhile, the attention of all delegations was focussed on the British delegation in expectation of the statement which was promised several days ago. It will probably be made tomorrow. It was learned here that members of the British Cabinet have been meeting on the Palestine issue during the last two days, following the Soviet statement on partition.
CHARGES U.S. TRYING TO DICTATE TO ARAB COUNTRIES
Terming the statement of the U.S. delegation a “dictate” to the U.N., Lebanese delegate Camille Chamoun warned that the Arab countries will not heed American advice to obtain from use of force or threats of force. “The U.S. delegation,” he said, “tells us in a tone of thinly-veiled menace that it hopes that each of the parties concerned will strictly observe the provisions of the Charter. This advice, which closely resemble an order, impresses nobody. Strict obedience to the provisions of the Charter is not a one-way obligation which certain nations must fulfill because they are weak while others may neglect it because they are powerful.”
The Lebanese representative also charged that “two principal factors” played a role in the pro-partition attitude of the United States: “1. Considerations of domestic electoral policy and the United Nations administration’s need to appease the Jewish voter. Indeed, the creation of a Jewish state has become a classic theme on the eve of each Legislative or Presidential election in the United States. “2. A desire for political penetration in the Middle East dictated by a pitiless capitalism, with Zionism in the van.”
Appealing to the “Christian” feelings of the delegates, Chamoun said that the “Christian clergy” had this year submitted a memorandum to Pope Pius XII “complaining of the moral and religious evil wrought by Zionism.” This memorandum, he said, contained a complaint that Polish Catholics who lived in Tel Aviv during the war were refuse permission to build a chapel.
The Yemenite representative charged the Zionists with removing Jewish children from their homes and sending them to Palestine against the will of their parents. His ##en speech, which lasted for more than an hour, was devoted primarily to an attack on Jews and to arguments against admitting Jewish refugees to Palestine.
Opposition to the partitioning of Palestine was also expressed by Peter Bergson, head of the Hebrew Committee of National Liberation, at a press luncheon today. “Nothing will come of the partition plan,” he said, claiming that “the Hebrew people in Palestine” are opposed to it.
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.
