A program of “Pan-Semitism” as a basis for peace between Arabs and Jews in Palestine was outlined to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency by Haim Margalith-Kalvarisky, 76-year-old former head of the Arab Department of the Jewish Agency, on the eve of flying to London to join the Jewish advisory committee at the Palestine conferences.
Mr. Kalvarisky’s plan, in brief, envisions: 1) Palestine as a “bi-national” State with a constitution providing for “parity” between Jews and Arabs, no matter which is numerically predominant, 2) a federation of Semitic countries, including Palestine, with provision for Jewish immigration into Arab States under protection of international guarantees.
The plan was worked out in detail by Mr. Kalvarisky many years ago after consulting the views of Jews and Arabs, and its details have been modified from time to time to conform to prevailing conditions. The idea, in its broad outlines, is supported by a group of prominent Jews in Palestine and by a number of prominent Jews abroad.
“But perhaps more significant at the present juncture,” Mr. Kalvarisky said, “is the fact that this program has in the past repeatedly been accepted favorably as a basis for negotiations by major Arab leaders who were in a position to speak authoritatively.”
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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.
