Weizmann Rejects Mass Repatriation of Arab Refugees; Suggests Resettlement in Iraq

Israeli President Chaim Weizmann today rejected mass repatriation of the Palestine Arab refuges as a practical solution of the problem. At the same time, he suggested that they be resettled in the Tigris and Euphrates Valleys, in modern Iraq, in the area comprising the Biblical Garden of Eden.

Mass repatriation, he asserted, “would create a new minority problem and renew old strife.” He estimated that some 400,000 Arabs had fled the country and that only about 80,000 remained in Israel. Speaking further of their plight, the Israeli president declared: “We begged them to stop,” He placed the responsibility for their flight on the Arab states and British officers in Trans Jordan who promised them that they would return in a matter of weeks to reclaim their property and that of the Jews as well.

He also revealed that the Arabs were given false hopes of “golden mountains” of loot, that they were promised the spoils of Tel Aviv and the Jewish quarter of Jerusalem. The flight of some of them, he stated, was so hasty they left behind unfinished meals and “even chunks of gold.”

The population of Israel will reach the million mark by a year from now, the Israeli President predicted, adding that he would like to see a balance between the development of industry and agriculture so that the economy of the country could absorb 2,000,000 homeless Jews. He said that the two groups of Jews who most urgently need homes in Israel are the DP’s from Europe and the North African Jews.

NORTH AFRICAN JEWS NEED EDUCATION IN PIONEERING, DR. WEIZMANN ASSERTS

The North African Jews, Dr. Weizmann indicated, are creating a problem for Israel that may require several years to solve. He complained that they “suffer from too much imagination,” expecting to receive in Israel a “garden and a little cottage on a platter.” It is necessary “to tell them they have to work,” he stressed.

The North African Jews–some 800,000 who are spread across Tunisia, Algeria, Pripolitania and Morocco–are unprepared for pioneering, he insisted. “They need, above all, education,” he maintained. He estimated that the problem of adjusting these Jews to life in Israel would take “a few years,”

Dr. Weizmann said that if the development of Israel was concentrated along agricultural lines immigration would move slowly. Greater numbers could be absorbed through industrial expansion, he emphasized. He noted that the DP camps in Europe are now “practically cleared.”

Asked to comment on Arab fears of alleged Israeli aggression and designs for expansion in the Middle East, President Weizmann questioned the genuineness of that ?fear.” He also asked: “Why should we transgress and put our heads in the noose?” at another point he commented that “it is ironical that they should fear us, we have plenty of work to do.” He also reviewed Israel’s negotiations with the Arab states and stated that the Jewish state is prepared to enter into non-aggression pacts with all the Arab nations.

WEIZMANN DID NOT DISCUSS WITH TRUMAN ANY FURTHER LOAN FOR ISRAEL

Speaking of his luncheon with President Truman, the Israeli President said he had found the American President to be “very kindly” and “sympathetic.” He said that he did not discuss finances or prospects for a further loan with Truman. He added that Truman asked him about the “hopes” and “development” of Israel, its relations with its neighbors, and the work accomplished as a “foundation for peace.”

(The New York Times today reported from Rome that the statement made in New York Saturday by President Weizmann declaring that the Israeli Government is ready to recognize the interests and concerns of Christianity regarding the immunity and protection of the Holy Places in Jerusalem was welcomed in Vatican circles as “a conciliatory and reassuring gesture.”)