111.111111111111U
Purely Commentary
A U. S. State Department map recently
reproduced on this page was utilized to
show the minuteness .of Israel when likened
to the vast areas occupied by the Jewish -
state's neighboring countries whose poten-
tates are bent upon a course of destruction
in the Middle East. A mere speck on the
map of enriched Arab lands is begrudged
the people of Israel in their process of re-
deeming their ancient homeland.
Even More impressive is the study that
has been made of the population density of
Israel as contrasted by the enormity of
Arab possessions.
The Quest for Truth in a Poisoned Middle East
Atmosphere . . . Analysis Exposes Arab Strength
and Israel's Minuteness in Vast Sea Among Enemies
areas in the interest of peace. The term
non-belligerence has been coined, and
Israel has asked for a pledge to restrict
'belligerent actions especially by Egypt.
But even such a pledge is not forthcoming.
That is why Krivine's comments in his
analysis are so vital. He states:
that are not under Jewish sovereignty.
Can one or two per cent of the Arabs
live under a Jewish flag?
The answer, it should hastily be said,
is no; and we accept that. Israel is pre-
pared to waive a part of the national
heritage in order to avoid any substantial
concentration of Arabs having to live in
a country where another ethnic group
constitutes the majority.
Israel has therefore proclaimed herself
as ready to negotiate a territorial com-
promise with Jordan. But creating a
separate Palestinian state between Israel
and Jordan would generate pressures that
must build up into an explosion.
That is why the Arabs devised the new
"Palestine" ethnicity. If they have ter-
ritorial sovereignty over a continent big-
ger than all Europe, at least the Palestin-
ians can be described as a land-lacking
nationality. But then, where does this
end? There is no reason why Arafat
The accompanying map on this page,
should not create a G.L.O. next — Gali-
provided by Features of Israel, tells the . lean Liberation Organization. Many
story bluntly — factually.
political innocents will be moved to tears
by fervent Arab pleas for a return of
An analysis of the density factor was
their national home in Galilee (capital:
made recently for the Jerusalem Post by
Nazareth) as well. The Jewish state will,
David Krivine. It serves to dispel the
bit by bit, dwindle away to nothing.
charge of Israeli expansionism. Distorted
interpretations of Israel's current role in
Recognition of Palestinian, as against
the Middle East may have led many to
Arab, rights means acceptance of the fol-
'believe that Israel is imperialistic, that the
lowing principle: that wherever Arabs
handful of Israelis in comparison with the
dwell, the Arabs are sovereign. The pop-
large masses of Arabs are imperialistic
ulation of the West Bank and Gaza to-
and arrogant.
gether in 1970 was 965,000, or 0.88 per
cent of the population of the Rabat
Krivine is conservative even when he
powers. If we add another half million
states that the state of Israel even with
Arabs in Israel, and one million Pales-
the inclusion of the Gaza Strip, the Golan
tinians outside Palestine who might con-
Heights and the Sinai area, when matched
ceivably be induced to return if they had
by the Arab territories, is like matching
autonomy, that is still only 2.25 percent
Corsica with France. Thereupon he points
of the Arab people.
to these facts:
It is the Arabs who are gorged with
territory, not the Jews. If we take all
Paleitine, omitting Sinai (that is, Israel
plus West Bank plus Gaza plus Golan)
the area comes to just over 10,000 square
miles, less than half the size of Lake
Michigan.
_111.1
Assuming a maximum Israel with-
drawal (to the 1967 borders), the size of
Arafat's state, including Gaza, would be
2,410 square miles. This is smaller than
the Hebrides, smaller than the Canary
Islands. The West Bank has no railway,
and is separated from the Gaza coastline
by Israel territory.
For her part, Israel would find herself
in a tactical trap. The "waist" between
Haifa and Tel Aviv is eight miles wide,
from frontier to sea. Every Israel airfield
would be within shooting distance of Arab
guns.
If we wanted to avoid this suicidal pro-
pinquity and negotiate "secure and de-
fensible, borders," we would come up
against the incapacity of Arafat to make
any concessions whatever, because his
own diminutive principality is a geo-
graphic farce even as it is, without con-
The rest have sovereignty in more than
a dozen independent Arab states. Today
80 per cent of the Jews live in countries
By Philip
SlOffioyitz
sidering any of the modifications that
Israel would require.
There are Jews, and even Israelis, who
have long been clamoring for a surrender
of what they consider to be ill-gotten
gains and a return all the way to the 1967
borders. To refresh our memories and
theirs, let us take another look at com-
parative figures:
Sq. Miles
Israel (1967 borders) 8,017
Israel (present borders.
excluding Sinai)
10,874
Jordan (without the West Bank) 35,468
Syria (without Golan)
70,784
Golan
444
—Egypt
386,550
Gaza Strip
All the Arab Rabat powers
together
4,562,340
The misfortune is that the reality of
Israel's role as depicted in the map that
appeared on this page in the Dec. 6 issue
may have gained only Jewish attention;
that the destructive chart on this page
may not draw the interest it should from
those who exert influence on public opinion.
How can truth gain ground in a world
already sickened by selfishness and indif-
ference to human needs? What can little
Israel do in an era of spreading anti-
Semitism? How will a world considered
civilized rise to heights greater than pre-
scribed by an international community
that has become degraded by the smell
of oil? Under such circumstances, is it
any wonder that there is so much fear
over an impending revival of warfare? -
Listing the Arab countries that press
for Israel's - withdrawal, we find that
Jordan is 31/2 times larger than Israel-
Palestine, Tunisia six times larger, Syria
61/2 times larger, the Yemen Republic
seven times larger, Muscat and Oman
7% times larger, South Yemen 10 times
—larger, Egypt 35 times larger, Libya 52
times larger, Saudi Arabia 76 times
larger, Algeria 84 times larger, and
Sudan 89 times larger.
Some people may be under the impres-
sion that the Arab states are heavily pop-
ulated and need sizable areas for sub-
sistence.. Statistics (for 1970) indicate
otherwise. The number of inhabitants per
square mile in Libya is 2.75, Saudi Arabia
7, Muscat and Oman 7, and South Yemen
10. Algeria has 14 inhabitants per square
mile, the Sudan 15, Iraq 51, Jordan 55,
r the Yemen Republic 66, Tunisia 75, Syria
80, Egypt 82, Morocco 86, and Kuwait 90.
The figure for Israel is 374 inhabitants
per square mile (again, using 1970 fig-
gures).
Assuming that immigration continues
to flow in and the number of inhabitants
reaches seven million persons by the turn
of the century (including one million
Arabs), populatiOn density in Israel will
then be 873 persons per square mile.
Arguments have broken out already
inside this country over the disposal of
the piteously limited acreage available.
Meir Zorea, chief of the Lands Adminis-
tration, opposes point-blank the minister
of housing's plan to take over 7,500 acres
of agritidtural land for housing during
the next five years. Zorea points out that
the country has only 1.4 dunams of farm-
land per head of'the population as it is,
and that is a minimum in his view. Yet it
is only a matter of time before the 7,500
acres and much more is used up — to
house the multitude of Jews who are
waiting patiently in Russia for permission
to immigrate to Israel.
In more than one sense, Israelis are
hemmed in. The minute territorial gains
that have been made serve protectively to
prevent destructive attacks on the tiny
state. Yet there are increasing sentiments
favoring Israeli withdrawals from some
2—Friday, Dec. 27, 1974
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
Population*
ALGERIA
EGYPT
IRAQ
JORDAN
KUWAIT
LIBYA
MOROCCO
15,270,000
34,839,000
10,070,000
2,470,000
910,000
2,080,000
15,830,000
Density (in-
habitants per
square mile)
14,i;
82 *
51
55
90
2.75
86
*
Population
MUSCAT AND OMAN
SAUDI ARABIA
SOUTH YEMEN
SYRIA
TUNISIA
YEMEN
ISRAEL
Figures are from the 1974 World Almanac.
700,000
8,000,000
1,510,000
6,680 ;000
5,380,000
6,060,000
3,200,000
Density (in-
habitants per
square mile)
7
7
10
80
75
66
374