HE JEWIS NEWS
A Weekly Review
of Jewish Events
708 David Stott Bldg.—Phone WO. 5-1155 Detroit, Michigan, July 27, 1951
•
ONLY
English
Jewish
Newspaper
Incorporating The Detroit Jewish Chronicle
VOLUME 19—No. 20
Michigan's
7
$4.00 Per Year; Single Copy, 10c
Armistice Group's Work
Halter: by Deat of Abdullah
axe
Direct JTA Teletype Wires to The Jewish News
Ex-illufti Plot in Jordan
Abdullah's Murder Totters
Middle East ; Israelis Take
Dim View of Assassination
NEW YORK, (AJP)—The only Arab ruler who has
shown any readiness to deal realistically with Israel was
dead this week, victim of an assassination which posed new
threats to the shaky political balance of the Moslem world
surrounding Israel.
Abdullah was shot and killed as he entered the Mosque
of Omar in the Old City of Jerusalem which he had an-
nexed from Israel. The murder was the second of a Middle
East Arab leader within 10 days. It set off a wave of ten-
sion throughout the area and was viewed in some circles
- -
—American Jewish Press Photo
KING ABDULLAII AND PRINCE NAIF OF JORDAN
DURING A PEACEFUL ERA IN THEIR LAND
as part of a plot_ by the notorious ex-Grand Mufti of Jeru-
salem to grab power in the powder-keg, tension-ridden Mid-
dle East.
Zionist sources speculated on the possible effects of the
slaying on Israel. Since the Jordan annexation of Arab Palestine,
the longest border between the Jewish State and the Arab
nations is with Jordan.
The earlier assassination victim was the former Lebanese
Premier, Ryad el-Sohl, who also was killed in Amman, after a
visit with Abdullah.
Abdullah's British-financed and British-led Arab Legion
was among the participants in the Arab invasion of Israel, but
the Jordan leader was expelled from the Arab League when he
made it plain he was not in sympathy with demands for a
second round against Israel.
Israel received the news of Abdullah's murder with deep
regret.
Though a cunning and skillful enemy in battle, the Moslem
chieftain was perhaps the only realistic powerful figure in the
Arab world insofar as recognition of Israel was concerned. Jordan
signed a truce with Israel in April, 1949, second only to the
Egyptians who were skipped by the Israelis in battle. Abdullah's
Arab Legion constituted the only Arab force to achieve any
decisive gains over the Israelis in their War for Independence.
: Foreign observers linked .Abdullah's death to the activities of
Haj Amin El-Husseini, a Nazi collaborator and mastermind of
Arab riots against Palestine's Jews in the 1920-30s, the ex-Mufti
was last rumored dickering with the Soviet Union while on a
recent visit to Pakistan.
Prime factor in linking the ex-Mufti tci Abdullah's murder
was the link between the late ruler's assassin, 21-year-old Jeru-
salem Moslem tailor Mustafa Shukry Ashsho, who held member-
Ship in the sabotage corps of the underground terrorist group
Sacred Struggle Organization, an extremist movement headed by
a cousin of the ex-Mufti. •
JERUSALEM.—The .work of the Israel-Jordan Mixed Armistice Commission has
been paralyzed by the assassination of King Abdullah. Meetings of the Commission are
not scheduled for the near future.
Meanwhile, some 70 Catholic pilgrims from Italy and South America have been
stranded in the New City, which is a part of Israel, by the refusal of the Arabs to
grant them permission to cross the lines an d visit shrines in the Old (Jordan-held) City.
Israeli authorities have come to the assistance of the pilgrims, many of whom are
without funds, and will provide them with normal food rations until they are able to
leave the country.
Israel government spokesmen continued to abstain from commenting upon the assassination
of King Abdullah of Jordan and its consequences for Israel. However, Premier David Ben-
Gurion indicated that Israel must be prepared for any eventuality. He warned the Israeli popu-
lation against deceiving itself by illusions that the country enjoys complete security.
The premier lashed out especially against
Egypt. He said that Egypt devotes its entire
military budget against Israel exclusively and
that it accumulates armaments for fighting
the Jewish state. He spoke at a conference of
craftsmen and light industry . manufacturers
sponsored by the Israel Labor Party.
"Despite the value of our great victory of
three years ago," he said, "we must remember
that we have still not won the ultimate battle.
We shall do the utmost to continue the pres-
ent cease fire indefinitely because we want
peace. But events around us are disquieting.
Our enemies have not yet accepted our exist-
ence and are still planning a second round.
If that happens they will be dealt the lesson
they deserve."
Foreign diplomats and members of the
United Nations staff, returning Tuesday to
Israel from Amman, where they attended the
funeral ceremony for King Abdullah on Mon-
day, revealed that the • situation in Amman
and in the Old City of Jerusalem where Ab-
dullah was assassinated is still tense. It was
also reported here Tuesday that the ex-Mufti
of Jerusalem, who is considered the man be-
hind the plot to assassinate Abdullah, left
Cairo for Gaza, the Egyptian-held Palestine
city which is close to Jordan frontiers.
(In Washington, the assassination of Ab-
dullah was interpreted by government sources
as a major- blow to peace and stability in the
Near East. It is believed that chances for
Israel-Arab accord thus are lessened.
(Israeli representatives in Washington and
at the United Nations abstained from making
any comment on the assassination. In Lon-
don, Israel Ambassador Elath told the Jewish
Telegraphic Agency: "Abdullah was a man
The brother
who worked hard for understanding between
and sister above are eagerly setting off for
Israel and Jordan and whose efforts, if suc-
their first day in school in an immigrant
cessful, would have contributed much progress
reception camp in Israel. Although they are
to the welfare of the entire area.")
Off to School:
new arrivals in the Jewish State, along with
tens of thousands of others who have been
transferred to safety in Israel with funds
furnished by the United Jewish Appeal,
they are wasting no time in catching up on
their schooling. The tents visible in the
background must give way to aluminum
and wood housing units—through support
of the UJA—before the rainy season starts
in December.
Midgal Gad Election Voided
TEL AVIV—District Judge Benjamin Co-
hen, sitting here, has voided the Migdal Gad
municipal elections on the ground that the
principle of the secret ballot was violated.
Residents of Migdal Gad, who challenged
the election of the town's mayor, charged that
ballots were placed in transparent envelopes.
They also asserted that the mayor could not
serve because he was not a bona fide resident
prior to his election.
Abdullah, the only Arab leader of any status opposed to
continued warfare against Israel,. stood in the path of the
ex-Mufti and other extremists bent on a so-called "second
round." His death apparently left the balance of power in the
Moslem Middle East in the hands of the .fanatical Arab League
effendis.
A dispute over Abdullah's successor as leader of Transjordaa
perhaps more important, its crack British-trained Arab
Legion, appeared almost certain, His titular successor should be
Prince Tallal, but the prince, suffering from a nervous ailment,.
was sidestepped, at least temporarily, by the appointment of
Prince Naif, Abdullah's second son, reportedly favored by the late
king as a successor.
Tana' is known to have bitterly opposed his late father's
friendly policies toward Britain and the State of Isrhel and
Arab riots agaihst Palestine's Jews in the 1920-30s. The ex-Mufti
reportedly was inclined to follow the Arab. League's fanatical
fringe. which endorsed a new invasion of the Jewish Stat/e,
• (Additional PrA Cabled Reports on Page 3)
and
JDC Aid in Iran:
Thousands of Jews in Iran, unable to earn a livelihood
and fearful of what the unsettled future of t hat country may hold for them as unrest in-
creases, are today dependent upon the Joint Distribution Committee for food, clothing and
medical care. At a hospital in Isfahan (left) an orphaned youngster suffering from tra-
Iran. During
JDC has allocated
choma
gets a 1951,
hot, nourishing
meal. In nearly
Teher an (right), these little girls have just received
sweaters, mittens, and brand-new shoes fr om Stanley Abramovitch. JDC Director for
$2,000,000 for its welfare programs in the
Moslem world, with funds provided by the Un iced Jewish Appeal,