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,