The General Assembly’s Special Political Committee, which has spent all of last week listening to bitter, anti-Israeli diatribes by some of the leading spokesmen for the Arab bloc, with some responses from the Israel delegation, is expected to make some progress here tomorrow in the current debate on the Arab refugee problem. Three separate resolutions were being prepared today, and will probably be introduced this week. The prospective drafts are:
1. A Western resolution, with strong backing from the United States calling for (a) an extension of the mandate for the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine to June 30, 1964; (b) authorizing the Palestine Conciliation Commission to continue for another year the efforts to arrive at some step-by-step solutions of the refugee problem, begun this year by Dr. Joseph E. Johnson, president of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. UNRWA’s present mandate is due to expire at the end of June 1963.
2. A resolution being discussed by a number of African, Latin American and West European members, calling upon the Assembly to initiate a new, over-all evaluation of all Arab-Israeli disputes, including the Arab refugee issue.
3. A resolution to be sponsored by the Arab bloc, with the support of other Moslem states and with the backing of the Soviet bloc, calling for reorganization of the Palestine Conciliation Commission, and the establishment of a UN custodian for property allegedly abandoned by the refugees in Israel. This draft may also call for the creation of a special UN commission to probe the conditions under which Arabs live in Israel.
The PCC consists now of representatives of the United States, France and Turkey. The Arabs want the commission abolished unless it is reorganized so as to exclude “non-neutrals” like the U.S.A. and France and so as to include representatives of the Soviet bloc and “unaligned” nations that do not have friendly relations with Israel.
Thus far, Israel has been heard only in reply to some of the more vicious attacks by spokesmen for the Arabs, especially Ahmad Shukairy, head of the Saudi Arabian delegation, and Emil Ghoury, representing the so-called “Palestine Arab Delegation.” The latter is an associate of the former Grand Mufti of Jerusalem, who, in turn, was an outright collaborator of Hitler; Michael S. Comay, Israel’s permanent representative, has carried the brunt of the responses to the Arab attacks. Mrs. Golda Meir, Israel’s Foreign Minister, has attended most of the committee’s sessions, but has sat back, letting Mr. Comay do the answering.
Help ensure Jewish news remains accessible to all. Your donation to the Jewish Telegraphic Agency powers the trusted journalism that has connected Jewish communities worldwide for more than 100 years. With your help, JTA can continue to deliver vital news and insights. Donate today.
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.
