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Magnes Predicts War in Palestine if Jewish State is Proclaimed; Wants Parity

December 24, 1944
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Any attempt to convert Palestine into an Arab state or a Jewish state will result in warfare within the country, Dr. J. L. Magnes warns in the current issue of the Nation.

As a solution of the Palestine problem, Dr. Magnes suggests the creation of numerical and political parity between the Jews and Arabs there. Numerical parity can be obtained, he says, by the admission of an additional 500,000 Jews and political parity by the establishment of a bi-national state, which will be part of a larger federation consisting of four autonomous units: Palestine, Lebanon and Transjordan.

The tempo of the immigration of the 500,000 additional Jews would be dependent upon the absorptive capacity of the country, Dr. Magnes stipulates. After the initial parity has been reached, there could be a further steady, though limited Jewish immigration in order to make up the difference between the Arab and Jewish birthrate, he suggests. He emphasizes that he does not speak in the name of the Hebrew University of which he is the president.

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