Keepers of World's Conscience
THE JEWISH NEWS-59
`Arab State' Chief
Friday, October 1, 1948
A Review of Jorge Garcia-Granados' The Birth of Israel,'
Published by Knopf
Jerusalem, Cyprus
Residents May Vote
In Israeli Elections
By MAURICE SAMUEL
Less than a year and a half
ago we were scrutinizing, with
more anxiety than hope, and
above all with a pervading sense
of futility, the identities and rec-
ords of the men who made up
the UNSCOP, the United Nations
Special Committee on Palestine.
It seemed to us at that time
that British Foreign Minister
Bevin could not have decided to
refer the question of Palestine
to the United Nations without a
well-based assurance that the
verdict would be in Britain's
favor. We 'assumed, of course,
that a number, of governments
would instruct their delegates to
vote against Britain, for reasons
not relevant to the intrinsic mer-
its of the case; that anyone would
vote for us, rather than against
Britain, on similar grounds, was
out of the question; what had, we
to offer.
We scanned the list of men,
and looked into their antecedents,
with the remnants of our hopes.
Perhaps there were a few un-
committed governments, and a
few delegates who, bidden to in-
vestigate the problem and issue
a verdict according to their con-
science, would not succumb to
pressure of blandishment.
Granados' Background
Of Jorge Garcia-Granados, the
delegate of Guatemala on the
UNSCOP, we knew nothing be-
yond his record as a courageous
liberal and his connection with
a family with a high tradition of
political morality. We had be-
come so accustomed to betrayal
by liberals that these recommen-
dations were not enough. That a
majority of the UNSCOP would
issue a report in favor of a Jew-
ish State was beyond all expec-
tation; that Jorge Garcia-Grana-
dos would be the leading advo-
cate _ for our side was the best
that a somewhat hazy optimism
could anticipate.
To read Mr. Granados' account
of his work with the UNSCOP
in Palestine, and with the UN at
Lake Success, is to re-enter an
almost forgotten age of political
decency. He has given to his
book the subtitle "The Drama
As I Saw It." But much of the
fascination of the book resides
for the reader in the drama of
Mr. Granados himself. What hap-
pened to him in Palestine is per-
haps the high point of the record,
for it is the vindication of all
our work—and of the ultimate
triumph of morality and reason.
An affirmation of this kind
takes precedence, I feel, over
the humanitarian sympathies
which of themselves impelled
Mr. Granados to champion the
cause of 1. Jewish state. Had
he been compelled to rely on
these alone, he might not have
found the positive strength to
hold out against the infinite in-
trigue which surrounded the
work of UNSCOP and the UN
-4 Assembly. And if he had, we
would not have been granted
the satisfaction of knowing that
our deeds, rather than the mis-
deeds of Britain, constitute the
supreme argument in favor of
the Jewish state.
That satisfaction is enormously .
important; not as a matter of
pride, but as a corrective to the
bitterness which is apt to get the
upper hand in us when we per-
ceive again, in Mr. Granados'
record, the apparently aimless
malice which informed Britain's
policy in Palestine during the.
year of decision. I emphasize the
word "aimless" because it is im-
possible to justify . the record
even on the grounds of a pro-
Arab policy. The Arabs have
been as shabbily treated as the
Jews. What benefit was supposed
to accrue to them from this en-
couragement of a sterile and im-
potent oppositionism? Who was
supposed to be the gainer even
if the Jewish state in the making
was submerged in a unitary Pale-
Stine turned over to the Hussei-
nis? Not the Jews, not the Arabs,
and not even the British! One
is brought up finally by that old,
baffling question which always
emerges in cases of this kind:
"Do you mean to tell me that the
British didn't know what they
were doing?" And one has to
take one's courage in one's hands
and answer bluntly: "That's ex-
actly what I mean!"
One of the most shocking—and
bewildering—sections of the book
deals precisely with the deter-
mined ineptitude of the British.
There was a point in the history
of the UNSCOP work in Palestine
at which the 'British might have
begun, with some degree of grace,
to bring an element of reason into
their behavior in Palestine: that
was the case of the three Irgun-
ists who were sentenced to death
for their part in the Acco jail-
break. The UNSCOP, approached
by the parents of the boys, inter-
vened—let it be said, to his ever-
lasting credit, largely on the ini-
tiative of Mr. Granados. It had
no "right" to Intervene. It was
not supposed to comment on cur-
rent administration of the coun-
try and on the carrying out of its
laws. What a sensible and in-
telligent thing it would have
been, however, fo commute the
sentence! What a fine beginning
it could have made for a reversal
of policy!—a reversal, be it noted,
which must come some day, any-
how, under less favorable circum-
stances. No! It was shortly after
the arrival of the UNSCOP that
the boys were executed; it was
during the presence of the UN-
SCOP in Palestine that the Brit-
ish Cabinet—it cannot have been
done at a lower level—decided to
turn back the Exodus 1947 to
Germany! Mr. Granados writes
on page 193: "I thought to my-
self, the British themselves really
have no conception of their own
rigidity and cruelty in the Pale-
stine matter."
We had earned the right to
statehood, not simply because our,
rulers were bad, but because our
work was good; it appealed to
the world's conscience.
It is an organic and important
part of Mr. Granados' contri-
bution to the Jewish cause that
he should have made this so
clear; it is what makes his book
"must" reading for anyone inter-
ested in the future of Israel.
Israel's Envoy in Romania
BUCHAREST, (JTA)—Moshe
Agami-Auerbach, a special Is-
raeli government ,representative,
arrived here on an official mission.
TEL AVIV, (JTA)—Jerusalem
residents and refugee immigrants
detained by the British in Cyprus
will be eligible to vote in the
forthcoming Israeli national elec-
tions, it was announced by the
State Council committee which
is setting up election rules. The
same privilege will be extended
to Israeli 'citizens who are now
abroad.
Under the regulations, all citi-
zens over 18 may cast a ballot,
but only persons over 25 may be
elected to office.
-. Soldiers and officers in the
Israeli Army will have their
basic pay increased. The basic
pay for a soldier at ,the present
is $8 a month. Officers get up
—International News Photo
AHMED HILMY PASHA, military to $24 a month. The families of
all servicemen receive special
governor of Arab-held Jerusalem, allowances.
who has been named "Prime Min-
ister of the new Arab govern-
ment of Palestine" by the Arab
League, over the protests of
Transjordan and Iraq. King Ab-
dullah of Transjordania maintains
that such an appointment is tante-
-noun." to recognition of Palestine's
partition.
Rothenberg Named Chairman
Of Israel Aviation Group
NEW YORK — Nathaniel S.
Rothenberg, prominent New York
attorney and former chief of the
wartime Air Transport Command
Intelligence in China, was • elect- -
ed president and chairman of the
National Committee of the Amer-
ican • Friends of Aviation in
Israel, 250 W. 57th St.
Alliance Israelite Plans
Reconstruction in Israel
NEW YORK (JTA)—The Al-
liance Israelite Univergelle will
•rebuild its schools in Tel Aviv
and Safad, which were destroyed
in the course of hostilities, it was
announced by Jules Braunschvig,
vice president of the Alliance,
upon his arrival from Paris. The
organization is also opening new
classes for 2,000 additional pupils
in its schools in Iran, Braunsch-
vig reported.
Holiday Greetings
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and may these wishes continue to find
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