The Gazette and Daily from York, Pennsylvania • Page 21

The Gazette and Daily, York, EDITORIAL Thurs(Jay Morning, March 25, 1948 21 Tlie Mufti's Plan of Conquest- Those Phony Oil Arguments Letters From The People JEWS WRONGFULLY BLAMED Editor The Gazette and Daily: The advent of Easter calls to mind the tragic death of the Christian Saviour. Also, it revives, in all too many minds, the age-old, cruel arid infamous charge that the Jews were responsible for it. Indeed, only showdown between the sovereign Arab powers and a nimble fanatic. This strategy is scarcely made more dif- a few weeks ago this charge was repeated ficult by the lact that four of the nations over the a by a local minister in the deeply involved in potential oil riches are course of a Lenten sermon. governed by bitter enemies of the Mufti Ibn Saud of Saudi Arabia, Abdullah of By DAVID W.

NUSSBAUM On the contrary, after partition was voted King Ibn Saud wont out of his way to tell an American correspondent that this act would not alter his business relations with the Arabian-American oil-company. The second thing is that the argument that Arab potentates might hand over the field to Russian exploitat.on is a ridiculous fairy tale. Arab feudal barons would accept ten Jewish states before permitting direct Russian infiltration of Araby. The core of the oil problem is that four gigantic pipeline construction projects have been planned by Western oil combines for more than a year. The pipelines would pass through Saudi Arabia, Transjordan, Syria and the Lebanon.

This means that these four countries stand to -reap millions of indispensable dollars a year from royalties. And some 25,000 Arabs would get jobs. It is not surprising, therefore, that: (1) The heads of all these governments had signed the pipeline agreements by last summer (when, incidentally, 'Zionist immigration was at its height). (2) That at every Arab League session until last month they bitterly withstood pressure to cancel the agreements. Testing V.

S. It is only now, after the United States gratuitously opened 3i c.ppeasement campaign on the Palestine issue in. UN, -that the League has comrenced to make threatening noises against the agreements. Its members are testing to see if they can force the vacillating United States to go back on partition without sacrificing their oil royalties. The pipeline issue boils down to this: If the Arab states feel they can support the Mufti's war without losing their fabulous wealth in royalties, they'll do it.

But if they feel that through UN insistence and American public opinion, the royalties are endangered, no such economic suicide would be contemplated, any more than it was immediately after the partition vote. This means that instead of using oil as our weapon, the United States has blithely permitted the Mufti to use it as a weapon against us permitted him to persuade the Arab states to cut off their noses to spite their faces. Once again, the problem facing the Western nations on the Palestine issue is simply that of standing firm and forcing a Transjordan, the Regent and King of Iraq, and President Bcshara el Khoury of the Lebanon, a Maronite Christian. These, of course, constitute a majority in the League. The Situation In Palestine What, then, in summary, is the situation in the problem of Palestine and the UN crisis as it has now developed? (1) The UN can insist on partition (to avoid bloody liquidation of Palestine's 700,000 Jews at the hands of the Mufti's extremists and to avoid destroying itself by going back on its own decision).

(2) It could get partition without the use of international troops if this insistence is made crystal-clear to the heads of the seven governments represented in the Arab League. (3) On the official and public level it can take a forthright position that any kind of opposition to the partition agreement is to be considered open revolt against the UN and therefore grounds for expulsion from that body. (4) The United States could force Britain to put extreme pressure on the Lebanon whose Christian majority hates him anyhow for the extradition of the Mufti on war criminal charges. This could be backed up by pressure from all other countries. However, it ifi now very late for this move, and if it fails, King Abdullah's powerful Arab Legion can take care of the Mufti's volunteers the minute he is persuaded of the wisdom of this course.

It should be noted that ouside volunteers carry the brunt, of the fighting in Palestine. Palestinian Arabs have never figured importantly in the Mufti's Palestine campaigns. If such steps are not taken, the Mufti will carry out his holy vvar" whether ho has any real support f-jrc other Arab leid ers or not. It will be a fierce and ne less carnage. As it contin Mufti's rx-vver will naturally grow.

Yet re is the onVv ir-reconcilable enemy of the West in the Middle East, and as such the only real danger to American and British oil' interests there. (Copyiight. 1948, Overseas Nevs Agency, Inc.) In view of facts, I beg leave to present, in brief, the true story of the Crucifixion. Before I do so, however, I should like io quote an advertisement, signou by tht Ministerial Action Commit-ree of the Protestant church that appeared last yeai in the Philadelphia Record on the day before Easter. It read as follows: "Tomorrow we commemorate the Crucifixion of Jesus.

As we remember Calvary, we are gravely concerned over the manner in which the Crucifixion story will be interpreted in many American pulpits by minister and priest. We are aware that all too often in the past Christian leaders have distorted the Crucifixion story so as to leave the impression that the Jewish people wrere responsible for that tragedy. We can never forget that Jesus was a Jew. So popular was He with his own people that the Gospel says 'the people heard Him gladly and followed Him in their In fact, it was his very popularity that lead to his downfall at the hands of the political ecclesiastical machine of his time. It was at night they tried Him because they feared the wrath of the people.

We have record whatsoever of Jesus denouncing his own people as he did violently denounce certain official leaders. Christendom sometimes by indirection, but often directly, has placed the whole Jewish people under condemnation. This misrepresentation has provided fertile soil for anti-semitism, has been an indirect cause of the ghetto, pogram and much of the persecution which the Jews have suffered down through the ages into our own time. Christendom can no longer stand silent in the face of the great lie about the Crucifixion which has helped set the stage for the vicious and brutal anti-semitism we see ir the world today. We can see on ah sides would-be American Hitlers who, choosing anti-scmitism as their first and most important weapon, struggle for the triumph of Fascism in America.

They well know how deeply in-bedded in the Christian community is the latent anti-semitism that has its rootage in the twisted and distorted interpretation of the crucifixion." Now, what are some of the facts that prove that "the Jews were not responsible for the death of Jesus? Here they are: 1) Jesus was enthusiastically welcomed by the masses of Jews when he arrived in Jerusalem to join with them (in accordance with Biblical prescription) in the observance of Passover with the words: "Blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord." Why, then, should they seek His death? 2) The Sanhedrin the supreme Jewish political, judicial and executive body in ancient days had been stripped of its power of life and death by the Romans some years prior to the crucifixion, so that even though the Temple group of politicians were anxious to remove Jesus from the scene because he endangered their position with their Roman master, they could not achieve that end. Only the Procurator for Governor) Pontius Pilate had the power to execute Jesus. And he had good reason to do so because he regarded Him as a mischief-maker, a rabble-rouser, a disturber of the peace and a serious threat to the authority of Rome. (3) The whole procedure connected with the trial, conviction and execution of (Last of four articles describing the aims and organization of the exiled Mufti of Jerusalem. Mr.

Nussbaum, former Washington correspondent of Life, magazine writer and Navy air veteran, has just returned from an extended survey of conditions in the Middle East.) New York The present drift of United States policy on Palestine is towards "conciliation" and away from the previous strong stand on partition. Such a policy indicates a gross ignorance of or lack of regard for the political facts of life in the Arab world. These facts show conclusively that conciliation, or a peaceful settlement of any kind, is impossible until the exiled Mufti of Jerusalem has been eliminated as an influence on the situation. They establish further that the only way this can be done is by an aggressive United Nations stand on partition, which would force the heads of the Arab governments to choose between the UN and the Mufti. Their choice would be the UN.

Arab OH Presumably the principal reason the United States has hesitated on partition is to safeguard its huge investments in Middle East oil by appeasing the Arab world. This displays not merely ignorance but a fantastic confusion of the true situation. The first thing to understand about Arab oil is that the oilfields themselves do not enter the problem. The main fields now being exploited are in Iraq and Saudi Arabia, and neither Government has ever even hinted that it would make a move against American interests. Do The People Want Health Insurance? By the PHYSICIANS FORUM Abe Lincoln once said that you can't fool all the people all of the time.

That's the way it is with health insurance. Despite the enormous sums of money which the drug tryst and the medical bigwigs pour into propaganda, the majority of the people stay convinced that they must have national health insurance. The public opinion polls show this clearly. An American Institute of Public Opinion (Gallup) poll taken in August 1943 asked: "At present the social security program provides benefits for old age, death and unemployment. Would you favor changing the program to include payment of benefits for sickness, disability, doctor and hospital bills?" The answers were: Yes 59 No 29 Undecided 12 Another poll taken by the Natl.

Opinion Research Center, University of Denver, in August 1944 asked: "Do you think it would be a good idea or a bad idea if the social security law also provided paying for the doctor and hospital care that people might need in the future?" The answers were: Good idea 68 Bad idea 19 Don't know 13 Then those who thought this was a good idea were asked: "If this meant that 2.5 of people's pay checks would be taken out instead of the present 1 would you think this a good idea or a bad idea?" The answers were: Good idea 58 Bad idea 10 A definite majority of the American people, therefore, favor national health insurance. It has the wholehearted support of the AFL, the CIO, the Farmers Union, the Natl. Assn. for the Advancement of Colored People and many other organizations. Professional medical associations which support national health insurance include the National Medical Assn.

(the national organization of Negro physicians who are excluded by the A.M.A.), the American Public Health the Physicians Forum and the Committee of Physicians for the Improvement of Medical Care. If the majority of the people want national health insurance, why hasn't Congress passed the Wagner bill, S. 1320? One reason of course is that Congress often responds more to powerful lobbies than to the people's will. Another is the fact that while the people want national health insurance, they have not yet demanded it with a voice loud enough for Congress to take heed. The Natl.

Health Assembly to be held in Washington, D. May 1-4 should provide an opportunity for the Deople to make clear to Congress their demand for national health insurance. Labor unions and other organizations which want to do something about health insurance should write immediately to Mr. Oscar Ewing, Federal Security Administrator, Washington, D. and ask to be represented at the Natl.

Health Assembly. They should also urge that the assembly take a strong stand for the immediate enactment of national health insurance, the most important of all health measures. Federated Press Cold Blast At United Nations By DONALD BELL ago to a special session of the UN General Assembly. Painstaking investigations were made, a UN commission traveled through the Holy Land, exhaustive reports were written, and the General Assembly finally accepted the partition proposal. If the world organization was not to lose all authority to settle controversial international issues, that decision had to be carried out.

But the United States has now proposed to reverse last Fall's agreement and start anew, with the obvious purpose of appeasing the Arabs, regardless of the possible deterioration of the world organization. This alone would be enough to explain the gloom now prevailing at Lake Success. But UN experts are Dointine to still another inconsistency in our policies to- Jesus was in flagrant violation of Jewish ward the United Nations. Under the law. (a) The trial could not have been Italian peace treaty, Trieste is a kind of held in the palace of the High Priest.

The UN trusteeship. It has proven impossible designated place was the Temple, (b) The during the last year to find a Governor trial could not have been held a night and acceptable to Britain, France and the especially not on a holiday night. (c) United States on the one side or the Soviet Sentence and conviction could not take Union on the other. This means, in fact, place at the same sitting of the court. At least twenty-tour hours had to elapse between the two.

id) Jewish executions were rigidly forbidden on a holiday, yet Jesus was crucified on Passover according to the Gospels' account, (e) Crucifixion was never the Jewish method of execution. It was a common practice among the Romans. Much more could be added but limitation of space forbids. New York (ONA) During these first warm Spring days, foreign officials at Lake Success arc almost shivering. It is.

not only the specter of war that frightens them; as a matter of fact, most European observers in the United Nations do not believe war is imminent. The- argue that neither side is militarily prepared, and that it would be perilous indeed to start military action under such circumstances. But they are deeply pessimistic because the postwar machinery for the peaceful settlement of international conflicts is rapidly disintegrating. Latest sign that the United Nations might share the fate of the League of Nations is seen in the development on Palestine and Trieste. It is generally recognized at Lake Success that the sudden shifts in American policy concerning Palestine and Trieste were motivated by different considerations.

The revival of the Trieste case is the direct result of the "cold war." The compromise reached in 1946 after long negotiations would not be challenged now were it not for the Italian elections on April 18. The real question is not whether Trieste, situated exactly on tffc borderline of Russian and Western spheres of influence, is to be incorporated into Italy, but whether Italy itself shall remain in the Western orbit. Palestine, on the other hand, will not join the Soviet orbit whether partitioned or not. It would be senseless to choose the Arabs, an Oriental people as defenders of Western civilization against the Jews. Palestine, therefore, really has little to do directly with the "cold war." The Holy Land is important in British and American oil policies.

The issues of Trieste and Palestine, nevertheless, have one thing in common. Both problems were too big to be solved by the powers immediately interested, and Iherefore had to be turned oer to the United Nations. In the case of Trieste the Big Four recognized in 1946 that no solution could be reached without transferring sovereignty over the area to the UN Security Council. The United Nations accepted its responsibility, and it seemed out of the question that a change could be made in the Trieste statute without referring the whole issue to the Security Council. But France, Britain and the United States have now decided to offer Italy the return of Trieste before submitting the issue to the world organization, which may later be asked to confirm a settlement.

The case of Palestine proved too big for Britain, which submitted it about a year that the Italians and Yugoslavs could not agree on a neutral personality. The deadlock oxer the appointment of a Governor has been used as a justification by the three Western powers to reverse the stipulations of the Italian peace treaty. But if it is impossible to find a modus Vivendi for the little UN trusteeship of Trieste, how would it be possible to manage a trusteeship over Palestine? Who, then, crucified Jesus? Pontius Studying the difficulties encountered by Pilate, of course, who was subsequently removed from office because of his bloody the UN in Trieste, it would be only logical to advise against the same kind of experiment, on a larger scale, in Palestine. HoVv could the Security Council find a "Governor" for the Holy Land, in view of the actual warfare between Arabs and Jews, if the less explosive situation in Trieste did not permit the choice of a neutral umpire? deeds and presumably committed suicide. The guilt was lifted from his shoulders and placed upon those of the Jews.

And that was done for two reasons: (1) because the Jews refused to convert to Christianity the daughter religion. preferring to remain loyal to the faith of their fathers the mother religion and (2) be- If Trieste must really be considered maior UN failure, no new experiment of cause Rome under Constantine, having be the same tvrje should be inauenrated at come a Christian country, it was felt the same moment the restless Middle desirable to absolve a Roman from responsibility for the death of Him whom East. his successors now accepted as Saviour. RABBI LEONARD J. ROTHSTEIN.

A cement coating is applied by man-facturers to some nails; it gives extra power. This is the analysis of the Trieste and Palestine issues from the viewpoint of a functioning world organization which must be kept alive, especially in a time when war is threatening the whole world. But no solution is in sight unless careful decisions and recommendations of the United Nations are respected, and the international authority which can save the peace is restored. (Copy light, 1948, Overseas News Agency, IncJ Bulls are generally thought to be the most dangerous farm animals but horses account for most livestock accidents..