THE DETR OIT JEWISH NEWS—Friday, December 11, 1959--n
The Arab Refugee Scandal:
How Relief Rolls Are Padded
By SAUL CARSON
JTA Correspondent at the
,
' United nations
(Copyright, 1959, Jewish Telegraphic
Agency, Inc.) ,
UNITED NATIONS, N. Y.-
It took a pair of junketing
American Senators — Albert
Gore of Tennessee and Gale W.
McGee of Wyoming—to lift the
lid off one of the biggest inter-
national scandals, a swindle
that is costing American _tax-
payers hundreds of thousands
of dollars.
The whole thing has been
known at the United Nations
right along, to the American
delegation . here as well as ev-
eryone else. Now an effort is
being made to "revise" the
Arab refugee relief rolls. •
Senators Gore - and McGee
went to the Middle East to look
into the Arab refugee situation.
They visited the "host" min-,
tries where the refugees live—
Egypt (which keeps them im-
prisoned in the Gaza Strip),
Jordan, Lebanon and Syria.
They shocked the nation by an-
nouncing that they found in
Jordan alone at least 150,000
dead or people otherwise ineli-
gible receiving help-for which
America pays 70 percent of the
bill — through the United Na-
tions Relief and Works Agency
for. Palestine Refugees.
Now—how many of these ref-
ugees, in Jordan alone, are
dead? The latest UNRWA re-
port (and, it must be repeated,
the American delegation had a
copy of that report before Gore
and • McGee blew the whistle)
states:
"The problem of maintain.
-
ing accurate registration is
most acute in Jordan, where
the names of dead or other-
wise ineligible persons con-
tinue to swell the ration lists.
It is now estimated by the
Agency that the ration lists
in Jordan are in need of recti-
fication, involving some 150,-
©00 persons, about half of
whom are dead . .."
It's a matter of simplest arith-
-
metic. In Jordan alone, at least
76,400 dead "hold" UNRWA ra-
tion' cards. We, the American
taxpayers, have paid out a quar-
ter of a billion dollars in the
last nine years to support the
UNRWA work. UNRWA lists
in its latest report a total of
580,826 refugees in Jordan re-
ceiving rations, plus 35,000 oth-.
ers in that • country getting no
rations. or services. Thus, about
one-fourth of the "refugees" on ,.
—by,UNRWA statistics, and not
the rolls in Jordan are phonies
by the figures given by the two
Senators. Project that figure
against. the total 1,087,628 so-
called "refugees" listed by
UNRWA in all of its regions,
and you see that there are a
total of more - -than 250,000.
phony refugees—"dead or oth-
etivise ineligible" = whom the
American taxpayer is feeding
and sheltering.
There are many other fig-
ures, well-known here, deal-
ing with the refugee problem.
Jordan's capital of Amman
has a Chamber of Comtherce
which includes 600 members.
More than half of these are
listed as "refugees." In addi-
tion to the 250,000 "dead or
- otherwise ineligible" who are
drawing rations, there are in
the three "host" countries
about 200,000 others who are
known to be employed—but
holding UNRWA ration cards
just the same. These figures
reduce UNRWA's lists by
about 50 percent:
Neutral figures compiled
by a German. scholar show
•that, at mogt, there are no
more than 539,000 refugees.
If you take those figures to
be 'correct—and thus reduce
the UNRWA rolls by half—
and cut another half 'of those
539,000 off the rolls because
they are dead, otherwise in-
.
31 '1;10 Ngrt
r3'1172, rittb
trtfilp
v., .? 'rem'?
A Digest of World Jewish Happenings; from
Dispatches of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency and Other
News-Gathering' Media.
eligible, or, employed — and
you reduce the • legitimate
UNRWA rolls to no more
United States
than ' 250,000 genuine ref-
NEW YORK — A "frightening shortage" of teachers in
ugees.
Jewish religious schools in the Greater New York area was
Those 250,000 include the
reported at the conference of School Board Chairmen , of Jewish
children who never knew Is
retiring
rael and thus cannot be said Schools. '. . . At a testimonial dinner for David Rose,
$500;000
to be hankering for "repatri- national president of the American Technion Society,
ation." The 250,000 figure is was raised for the expansion of the new campus of the Technion,
cut still further when you in- Israel Institute of Technology in Haifa, Israel. . . . An audience
clude those who work for • of 40,000 is expected at . the annual Hanukah celebration of the
UNRWA — numbering be- Israel Bond Organization; at Madison Square Garden, Dec. 21
tween 10,000 and 15,000. The and Jan. 4. . . Max A. Braude, director general of the World
latest UNRWA report shows ORT Union arrived from Geneva for discussions with JDC and
that in its health, sanitation, American ORT officials concerning financing in 1960 of the ORT
and milk feeding programs vocational programs in 19 countries. . . . Harry Zinder, director
Alone, there are 3;528 ref- of Kol Israel, the-Israel Broadcasting Service, is in the U.S. to
ugees employed and -.Paid by explore the feasibility of establishing television service in Israel.
UNRWA funds — funds of ... Captain Joshua L. Goldberg, chief chaplain of the U.S. Third
which 70 percent comes from Naval District, was -honored by the commission on Jewish chap-
the pocket of the American laincy of the Jewish Welfare Board prior to his retirement from
taxpayers.
Those are the dimensions of
the scandal brought to light by
Senators Gore and McGee. The
"million" refugees come down
to about 200,000, of whom more
than half never saw Israel. Talk
about "revising" the relief rolls
is no more than diplomatic
weaseling. If the U.S. delega-
tion here really wants to be
straight and candid with our
Congress, which must. appropri-
ate the money for refugee re-
lief, our own delegation would
analyze the figures in this man-
ner: Everybady here has been
waiting for the U.S. delegation
to point the way for real eval-
uation of the Arab refugee
problem. But the U.S. delega-
tion fears the Arab die-hards
more than it fears the facts.
Nasser Emboldened in Threats to
Israel by $100,000,000 U.S. Gifts
JERUSALEM, (JTA)—Israeli
circles charged that promises
of massive American economic
aid—expected to exceed $100,-
000,000- during the coming year
— had emboldened President
Nasser of the United Arab Re-
public to a new pitch of belli-
cosity against Israel and threats
that he would, by force, pre-
vent Israel from proceeding with
its Jordan Valley irrigation
plans.
President Nasser, it was said
here, considers the American
aid, which has already begun
to flow into his country, as- an
indication of extreme American
eagerness to improve relations
Around the World...
with the UAR. He, therefore,
does not expect the Unite d.
States to make any move to
head off the new anti-Israel
hate drive he has launched.
Informed Israelis expressed
concern that if Washington con-
tinued to pour dollars into
Cairo—and some press reports
indicated that the American aid
total might reach $150,000,000
—without obtaining from Nas-
ser any agreement on his part
to avoid injury to Western
interests in the Midle East., the
net effect would be creation
of new difficulties in the Middle
East.
Nasser, they noted, had not
only started a new campaign
against Israel but had also
raised the "Jerusalem ques-
tion" in an effort to make trou-
ble for the Kingdom of Jordan.
Only the Soviet Union, they
said, would profit from further
disturbance in the area.
the Navy effective this month. . . . An appeal for greater par-
ticipation of lay leadership in religious movements was voiced
by former Senator Herbert H. Lehman in an address to the
newly-formed national advisory council of the Synagogne Council
of America. . . . In an address- to 1,000 members - of the Associa-
tion of Court Attaches, Dr. Joachim Prinz, president of the
American Jewish Congress, declared that the Sunday "blue
laws" a_re a violation of religious liberty and separation of
church and state principles. . . .
PHILADELPHIA -- The Jewish Employment and Vocational
Service of the Federation of Jewish Agencies received a grant
of $41,350 from the U.S. Office of, Rehabilitation for continuation
and expansion of the agency's short-term work therapy program.
LOS ANGELES -- ,The U.S. Public Health Service' has ap-
proved a grant of nearly $500,000 for the construction of the
new research center at the Cedars of Lebanon Hospital.
NEWARK, N.J. — Federal Judge Mendon Morrill reserved
his decision on an application for a restraining order in applica-
tion of New Jersey's Sunday closing law against persons who
maintain another day as their day of religious rest.
Canada
MONTREAL — A memorial meeting for the late Gedalia
Zakiff, secretary general of the Jewish Agency in Canada,
who was acting executive director of the Zionist Organization
of Canada from 1954 to 1956,, was., held at the Canadian Zionist
Organization headquarters under the chairmanship of Justice
Harry -Batshaw.
Latin America
BUENOS AIRES — A dinner marking the 25th anniversary
of DATA, Argentine Jewry's communal federation, was attended
by Israel Ambassador Dr. Arie Levavi and Jewish communal
leaders.
Israel
JERUSALEM — President Itzhak Ben-Zvi, Prime Minister
David Ben-Gurion and other notables took part in a memorial -
service for the late- Mayor Gershon Agron of Jerusalem at the
end of the traditional 30-day mourning period. ... Israel's top
envoys from various parts of the world have been summoned
for consultations, and Foreign Ministry officials said the simul-
taneous arrivals were coincidental and not part of a special
conference. -
'
,
Europe
THE HAGUE -- The West German government wilL' start
indemnification payments in January • to Dutch = Jews or their
survivors for the confiscation of furniture by the Nazis during
the German occupation of Holland.
The French government announced a second cut
PARIS
in aid to Frenchmen _expelled from Egypt after the 1956 Suez
campaign, in spite of the telegram sent to President Charles
de Gaulle by a group of expellees — 90 per cent of whom are
Jews = describing their plight. . . • A cultural accord between
Israel and France', which had been in the negotiation stage for
several years, was, signed at Quai d'Orsay, French thus to become
0
the most favored foreign language in Israel's primary and secon-
Hebrew Corner
dary schools; Mordechai Shneerson signing for Israel and M.
deCarbonel for France. -
BREMEN -- The Bremen Senate approved an allocation . of
1.500,000
marks out of indemnification funds for the construction
Every tourist -who comes to Jerus-
alem visits 'the .Meah Shearim _quar- of a new synagogue and a new old age home.
ter. The name of this quarter • is
LUEBECK -- A copy of the banned anti-Semitic film, "Jud
knOWn : to . Jews 'throughout the
world, though the , entire quarter Suess," was _confiscated by police when a squabble developed
does not consist of more than a between the owner of the film and a prospective purchaser. .
-few - narrow streets: It is one Of the
first quarters of modern Jerusalem, A new freighter, "Natany_a," built by the Zim Israel Navigation
and is full of yesivot (religious firm, with a capacity of 5,600 tons, able to reach a speed of 14.7
colleges) and Torah institutiOns
You enter the quarter via an iron: knots, was launched here, having been built under terms of the
gate. But it has not got .one hundred reparations agreement.
gates as you might think (from the
ROME — The Jordan government has asked the Italian
name). It . has only Six. The name
conies from a verse of the Bible. Foreign Ministry for guarantees that arms surpluses left in Italy
In the week in which the quarter by:, the U.S. occupation army after World War II will not be
Was founded iii 18
74, - the portion of
the Torah "Toldot",, which contains, sold to Israel. -
the verse,-`!And Isaac sowed in that
LONDON — The European board of the World Union for
land, and he found - in that year one.
hundredfold" (in - Hebrew:. MEAN. Progressive Judaisin has been constituted here and has adopted
SHEARIM), was read'.
a constitution, and after transfer of the central office of the
Most of the inhabitants of the
quarter are ..dressed in garments Refarm group to New York, next year, the European bOard will
Which resemble those that •the Jews direct activities on the continent from the London office. . . . The
used
ost,
t
eoafr.
::nsteCve E1:::11 Manchester Jewish Gazette reports that windows of Jewish-owned
and sidecurls, while the women wear shops in' Manchester have been defaced with the swastika, and
kerchiefs on their heads. Even the
'names of the streets reflect the that defacement of - windows has occurred in a dozen shops for
character of the quarter, for exam- two weeks. .
ple: Chevrat Mishnayot (Mishna
BONN — The Federal Parliament definitely shelved a vote
Society) Street, and Chevrat Tehil-
lini (Psalms Society) Street.
on a bill which would have provided jail sentences on conviction
When you walk in the streets you for incitement to religichis or racial hatred, Minister of Justice
hear the voices of boys and adults
studying Torah in the yeshivot, Franz Shaffer having defended the proposed legislation and a
maintaining an ancient tradition, Christian Union spokesman having stated he would not vote for
which they have received from their the measure because it would mislead the public and cause
fathers.
them to rely on judges and prosecutors instead of relying nn
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