Congressional Body Reports Its Stand on Resettlement of Arab Refugees

The House Foreign Affairs Committee, in an official report made public yesterday, said that it believes that “the vast majority of the Palestine Arab refugees will eventually have to be settled on land where there is room and opportunity for them”

In its discussions of the Arab refugee problem, the Committee was given facts by a Committee member, Rep. Leonard Farbstein, New York. Democrat, differing from the State Department’s presentations on this subject. Rep. Farbstein stressed resettlement in Arab lands as an important part of any effective solution.

In its formal report on the foreign aid bill, the Committee said: “The Committee regrets hat only limited progress has been made to solve the problem of the Palestinian Arab refugees. Some progress has been made within recent years because refugees who have acquired skills have found employment and have been absorbed in the local economy. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency”, the report continued, “plans to now expand the vocational training program in order to stimulate employment of the refugees and part of the funds included in this year’s authorization or the United States contribution to UNRWA are to be used for this vocational training program nevertheless, progress toward a final solution remains regrettably slow.”

The Committee stressed that the only favorable developments during the past year were 1) real progress in the rectification of U.N.R.W.A. relief rolls and 2) the expanded program of vocational training. “While the Committee continues to support the program, it is of the opinion that more vigorous action is needed to bring the refugee problem to an acceptable and early solution,” the report said. “The Committee believes that the vast majority of the refugees will eventually have to be resettled on land where there is room and opportunity for them.”

The House Foreign Affairs Committee report displayed an understanding of the Middle East situation in sharp contrast to the anti-Israel and pro-Arab stand of chairman J. W. Fulbright of the senate Foreign Relations Committee. The House Committee is headed by Rep. Thomas E Morgan, Pennsylvania Democrat. Chairman Morgan and his committee, including both Democratic and republican members, previously registered a strong stand against U.S. aid to Arab nations that practice discriminatory boycott and blockade tactics and manifest religious bias.