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UN Pact On Genocide
Fills Need of Centurie

Arab Refugee Problem

By PROF. RAPHAEL LEMKIN

The Rev. Dr. Karl Baehr, executive sec-
retary of the American Christian Palestine
Committee, taking exception to the state-
ment by Mrs. Mark Ethridge that Jews in
Israel found it expedient to "throw out 910,-
000 persons who had been living there for
1,400 years," offered much needed informa-
tion on the entire Arab refugee problem in
a letter to the New York Herald Tribune.
Dr. Baehr wrote :
I just returned from a month's study tour

of Israel. My findings do not support her con-
tention that the Jews "threw out" the Arabs.
In an interview. with Monsignor George Ha-
kim, Archbishop of the Greek Catholic Church
(a Uniate Church which is in fellowship with
the Vatican), I securer' a report on the flight
of the Arabs from Israel. As an Arab and a
former supporter of the Mufti, he cannot be
accused of being "pro-Jewish." He listed four
factors which precipitated the flight of the
Arabs:
(1)-- Most of the Arab leaders left in the
early stages of the conflict—during the period
of the irregulars, between Nov. 29, 1947, and
May 14, 1948. They, he declared, remembered
too well their experiences with irregular
"gangs" during the 1936-'39 riots. Great sums
of money and goods had been extorted from
them at the point of a gun. They did not
wish to face that again.
(2) A second element in precipitating the
flight, particularly in the Haifa area—the
area where Monsignor Hakim lives—was the
fact that the British informed the Arabs that
they would not protect them. Since most of
the Arab leaders had already fled, the people
were thrown into a panic so that they fled
by sea to Lebanon. They fled in spite of the
fact that the Jewish authorities guaranteed
their safety and rights as citizens of Israel.
(3) The Ramallah Radio and Arab propa-
ganda, in general, prophesied that the Arab
armies would overwhelm the Jews in a matter
of two weeks. The Arab peoples left, there-
fore, to get out of the battle area with the
expectation of an early return.
(4) A fourth cause was the fear, of mas-
sacre by Jewish extremists, such as occurred
at Pier Yassin, a regrettable act which . fol-
lowed the Arab massacre of all the Jews of
one of the Kfar Etzyon settlements south of
tsalem. It appears that the Arab propa-
tr :lists used this incident in two ways: .to
ir. .plre a will to fight the Jews and, on the
o Aer hand, to stimulate them to flee from
Is ael in order that the invading Arab armies
tld face only Jews.

Dr. Baehr points out that the threats of
ye! Jeance constantly being uttered by
justify Israel's demand for peace
"L More she takes on the security problem
of returned Arab refugees." He declared
fur Lher :

I found in Israel, among government offi-
cials and in the population generally, an in-
tense desire for peace. They did not want
the war; they wanted to live at peace with
their Arab neighbors and with the several
Arab nations. They do not want war now;
they want a peace which will bring them se-
curity, and which will not reward Arab ag-
gression.
It is imperative that these facts should

be made known and that they should be pre-
sented to President Truman, in order that
our Chief Executive should put an end to
the policy of obstruction to Israel which
again has become evident in the State De-
partment.
Repeated offers have been made by the
Israel government to accept from among the
Arab refugees relatives of Arabs now resid-
ing in Israel. The acceptance of such a pro-
posal by Lebanon, during the past few days,
is an indication that a peaceful solution to
the problem is possible---provided that an-
tagonists to Israel are kept out of negotia-
tions and that Arabs and Jews are permitted
to solve the problem of peace and rehabilita-
tion on an amicable basis.
While there has been a temporary period
of anxiety on the score of new political de-
velopments, we believe that the truth will
become known and that neither President
Truman nor the UN leaders will be misled
by false propoganda.

THE JEWISH NEWS

Member: American Association of English-Jewish News-
papers, Michigan Press Association.
Services: Jewish Telegraphic - Agency, Seven Arts Feature
Syndicate, King Features, Central Press Association, Palcor
News Agency.
Published every Friday by The Jewish News Publishing
Co.. 2114 Penobscot Bldg.; Detroit 26, Mich., WO. (>-1155.
Subscription $3 a year; foreign $4.
Entered as second class matter Aug. 6, 1942 at Post Office,
Detroit, Mich., under Act of Manch 3, 1879.

PHILIP SLOMOVITZ, Editor
SIDNEY SHMARAK, Advertising Manager

VOL. XV

—

No. 18

Page 4

July 15, 1949

Sabbath Scriptural Selections

This Sabbath, the nineteenth clay of Tam-
muz, 5709; the following Scriptural selections
will be read in our synagogues:
Pentateuchal portion—Num. 25:10-30:1.
Prophetical portion—Jer. 1:1-2:3.

A Step Against Jungle Law

(EDITOR'S NOTE: Prof. Lemkin, a well knot

10J1e.mot ♦ a4E4RATMIt

A.10$

Responsibility of Jewish Hospitals

Dr. A. J. Rongy, prominent New York physician and
Jewish leader, recently issued a warning regarding the fu-
ture professional status of the 650 Jews who annually are
graduated 'from American medical schools.
Taking a pessimistic view of the future, Dr. Rongy
predicts that "with but few exceptions" none of the gradu-
ates will, 25 years from now, become a medical director,
"none will head the medical department of one of our great
insurance companies, and but few will attain impor-
tant positions on the medical faculties." He believes that
250 out of the 650 will be channeled into specialized fields
and he points out that except for the Jewish hospitals and
some public institutions Jews are finding it difficult to ob-
tain residence positions in hospitals.
Dr. Rongy stated that Jewish hospitals do not provide
sufficient facilities for training in specialized fields to Jewish
doctors. In order , to prevent relegation of Jewish medical
men to the "lowest rungs" of the profession, Dr. Rongy
proposes that Jewish hospitals should be reorganized "with
a view to establishing as many residences as may be ap-
proved by the Council of Education of the American Medical
Association," and he declares further that "unless this is
done very soon, the Jewish medical group throughout the
country will be greatly handicapped in its progress and ad-
vancement."
While we believe that Dr. Rongy is entirely too pessi-
mistic in his outlook, since no one can predict with accuracy
the trends of democratic developments, we recognize the
urgency of „some of his admonitions. Jewish graduates from
medical schools have for some years suffered from existing
prejudices. While the best in the field always succeed, there
are many others who might have climbed to the top of the
ladder had they been given half a chance. The opportunity
may be available in improved conditions in Jewish hospitals.
The suggestions advanced by Dr. Rongy should be taken
seriously and acted upon promptly.
Dr. Rongy's admonitions should be considered seriously
by the Detroit Jewish Hospital Association. The sooner the
planned Detroit hospital is erected, the better for our en-
tire community and for Jewish medical graduates who need
new opportunities for advancement in their profession.

A Place of Honor For Norway

.

United • Nations headquarters received word from Oslo
that the Norwegian Parliament had ratified unanimously
the UN convention on genocide. Norway thus becomes the
first nation to approve the convention prohibiting the de-
struction in whole or in part of national, ethnical, racial or
religious groups. Ethiopia and Australia were the second
and third nations respectively to ratify the convention.
It was hoped that the United States, whose UN dele-
gates played an important role in securing the passage of
the genocide convention, would be the first to approve this
historic decision. Favorable U. S. action would have en-
couraged speedy adoption of the convention by all UN mem-
ber nations. Unfortunately, the House of Delegates of the
American Bar Association, at its convention in Chicago, in
February, went on record against the adoption of the gen-
ocide convention.
In spite of lengthy discussion of the entire idea, the
adoption of which was acclaimed by libertarians everywhere
as a victory for justice through an effective United Nations,
the head of the American Bar Association advocated post-
ponement of action on the genocide decision "until and un-
less there has been accorded the time and opportunity for
adequate public discussion and understanding of the con-
vention." The Bar Association's decision was a reversion
to bias. As we pointed out editorially on Feb. 11, it was "the
most shocking decision ever arrived at by a responsible body
of American leaders."
If the Bar Association's action was responsible for the
delay in favorable action by the United States Congress on
the genocide question, then it is high time that the liberty-
and justice-loving elements among American lawyers began
a movement to restore a sense of true American idealism
in their organization. Meanwhile, it may be necessary to
conduct a campaign of education to assure U. S. approval
Of the UN genocide convention, as Prof. Raphael Lemkin,
originator of the term "genocide' suggests in his article on
this page. Without the approval of our Government, the
entire idea may fail for lack of the required votes.

scholar of international law, is the originat
of the word genocide and has been instrument
in helping the United Nations draft its nt
anti-genocide Convention. Prof. Lemkin h
served as consultant to UN and is now teac
ing UN Law and Practice at the Law Scho.
of Yale University at New Haven, Conn.)
NEW HAVEN, Conn.—The United Natioi
General Assembly during its recent Third Se
sion unanimously adopted an International Col '
vention for the Prevention and Punishment
the Crime of Genocide. This crime is the
tentional destruction of national, religious an
racial groups.
The necessity for such a law was felt whe
the Romans tried to - exterminate the earl
Christians, and again when the Teutoni
Knights destroyed' entire Slavic populations an,
obliterated every vestige of life in some of th
areas which they "colonized." It should haw
been enacted after the Mongols destroyed Al
most 18,000,000 innocent men, women and chill
dren. It should have been enacted after mon
than 1,000,000 Greek children were carried awal,
by the Turkish Sultans from their parents
order to destroy the Greek nation and its and
cient civilization. It should have been passec l
finally, after the extermination of 1,200,000 Ar
menians during the first World War. At tha
time, the desolated survivors of this unspea*
able crime were actually promised a law and
tribunal by the victorious Allies, but nothini
happened.
In 1921, on a street in Berlin, a young Armen
ian student, whose entire family had perished i
the Turkish genocide program, took revenge of
the former Turkish Minister of the Interior whi
had been responsible for the massacres. Th
Armenian, Teliran, killed th e statesman i
question—a certain T,1at Pasha, who had es
caped to Berlin after World War I and was the
enjoying the immunity of a political refugee.
- The Berlin tribunal which tried Teliran
so Moved by the recital of his personal tragedl
and of the national frustration of his compat I
riots that it acquitted him on the grounds o
"insanity," Thus a man who had acted in the
name of the conscience of the world—a con
science which had not yet acquired the four
of international law—was declared insane. WhaA
irony for a civilized world!

i

ti

The same irony repeated itself in Paris in
1927, when a Jewish tailor—Salomon Schwarz-
bart—killed a "political refugee" named Pet-
lura, who was considered to have been the or-
ganizer of numerous pogroms against the Jews
of the Ukraine in 1918. The Schwarz;lart fam-
ily had been among the victims of one of the
pogroms . and the only survivor, who lived in
Paris, could not endure the moral frustration
of seeing the murderer of his and thousands
of other families enjoy the luxuries of Parisian
life. Schwarzbart surrendered to the French
Police and was acquitted—again on the
grounds of "insanity." The rebelling human.
conscience was craving for a law against gen-
ocide—but there was no such law.

After Hitler had exterminated 6,000,000 Jews,
2,500,000 Poles, almost all of Europe's Gypsies,
and innumerable Catholics and representative's
of other religions, the Nazi war criminals were
for once indicted and tried in Nuremberg. But
from many quarters, at that time, came corn-
plaints that there was no law on which to base
the trial of such criminals, and many legalistic-
ally-minded persons complain even now that
these men were tried on the basis of a retro-
active law. It should be noted, nonetheless, that '
the Nuremberg judgment did not settle the
matter, because it punished the criminals only
for crimes committed during war, or in con-
nection with a war, of aggression.

The primary question of protecting human
groups exposed to danger because of religious
intolerance or national hatred in time of peace
was again left open. For these reasons, the
United Nations had to step into this jungle of
human relations and proclaim to the world
that genocide is a crime under international
law. In order for this convention to become a
binding law upon nations, it is still necessary
for it to be ratified by at least 20 members of
the UN.

President Truman has submitted on June 16
the Genocide Convention to the U.S. Senate,
asking action against this "world-shocking
crime."
A powerful movement of public opinion is
backing this compact. The President of the UN
Assembly's Third Session, Dr. Herbert V. Evatt
of Australia—himself a great friend of the con-
vention—last year received a petition in favor
of the convention which was signed by 168 or-
ganizations, from 30 countries, and representing
a total membership of more than 240,000,000
people of all religions and from all walks of life
Catholics, Protestants, Muslims, Buddhists and
Jews; labor, management, civic leaders, women,
and chambers of commerce.-
Dr. Evatt, at the close of the Assembly, call-
ed upon all UN member nations to proceed im-
mediately with ratification. The world expects
that, when the next UN Assembly meets in New
York in September, its president will be able to
announce that the genocide convention is now
a law binding upon all nations, signifying hum-
anity's determination once and for all to sub-
stitute the law of civilized society for that of
the jun gle.

