CHAPTER TWO

THE PALESTINIAN ARABS WERE A WELL-DEVELOPED NATION POLITICALLY, ECONOMICALLY, SOCIALLY, AND CULTURALLY INTRODUCTION

In order to create an alleged justification for the crime of genocide they have committed against the Palestinian Arabs, the Zionists have tried to convince the world that Palestine was practically uninhabited, "A Land Without People for a People without a Land." They created and propagated the myths that the Palestinian Arabs were nomads or seminomads without a culture and civilization, that the Palestinians had neither a national identity nor existence, that the Palestinians lacked an economic structure and roots in the land.

The continuity of the Palestinian roots in the land in fact goes back to antiquity. Absorbing or outlasting various conquerors, Palestinians tenaciously tended their ancestral farmlands, whether as freeholders or as tenants and mortgagees, and by the end of World War 11, mostly as unfettered freeholders again. In his study of the history of landholdings in Palestine, Abraham Granott, formerly Managing Director of the Jewish National Fund, admits:

When the kingdom of Byzantium was subjugated by the Arabs, practically the whole of the land belonged to the big proprietors, the Emperor, the municipal authorities, and religious bodies, as churches and so on, while the soil was cultivated by the former owners who had remained on their plots as tenants after the land had passed into the hands of large owners.(1)

Thus the Palestinian fanners expelled by the Zionists in 1948 were the lineal descendants of the most ancient owners of the land. The Palestinian Arabs are the indigenous population of Palestine, the descendants of the Philistines and of all the Semitic peoples who have lived in Palestine since the time of the Canaanites. Successive waves of newcomers, such as Philistines from Crete, Semites from Iraq, Romans, Greeks and Arabs came and intermarried with the native stock.

The historical record disproves the Zionist lie that Palestine was undeveloped before the establishment of Jewish settlements in Palestine, Muqqadisi, a native of Jerusalem who died in 986 A.D., enumerated the principal products of Palestine in the tenth century

..among which agricultural produce was particularly copious and prized: fruit of every kind (olives, figs, grapes, quinces, plums, apples, dates, walnuts, almonds, jujubes and bananas), some of which were exported, and crops for processing (sugarcane, indigo and sumac). But the mineral resources were equally important: chalk earth, marble from Bayt Djibrin, and sulphur mined in the Jordan Valley, not to mention the salt and bitumen of the Dead Sea. Stone, which was common in the country, was the most generally used building material for towns of any importance.(2)

The following description also provides evidence from the late tenth century: "Palestine is watered by the rains and the dew. Its trees and its ploughed lands do not need artificial irrigation. Palestine is the most fertile of the Syrian province."(3)

In 1615 the English traveler George Sandys described Palestine as "a land that flows with milk and honey; in the midst as it were of the habitable world, and under a temperate clime; adorned with beautiful mountains and luxurious valleys; the rocks producing excellent waters; and no part empty of delight or profit."(4)

A British missionary who lived in Beirut and visited Palestine in 1859 described the southern coastal area as "a very ocean of wheat," and the British Consul in Jerusalem, James Finn, reported that "the fields would do credit to British farming."(5)

The German geographer Alexander Scholch concluded that between 1856 and 1882 "Palestine produced a relatively large agricultural surplus which was marketed in neighboring countries, such as Egypt and Lebanon, and increasingly exported to Europe. These exports included wheat, barley, dura, maise, sesame, olive oil, soap, oranges, vegetables and cotton. Among the European importers of Palestinian produce were France, England, Turkey, Greece, Italy and Malta."(6)

Lawrence Oliphant, who visited Palestine in 1887, wrote that Palestine's Valley of Esdraelon was "a huge green lake of waving wheat, with its village-crowned mounds rising from it like islands; and it presents one of the most striking pictures of luxuriant fertility which it is possible to conceive."(7) This Palestinian wheat had historically played an important part in international commerce. According to Paul Masson, a French economic historian, "wheat shipments from the Palestinian port of Acre had helped to save southern France from famine on numerous occasions in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries."(8)

Agricultural techniques in Palestine, especially in citriculture, were among the most advanced in the world long before the first Zionist settlers came to its shores. In 1856, the American consul in Jerusalem, Henry Gillman, "outlined reasons why orange growers in Florida would find it advantageous to adopt Palestinian techniques of grafting directly onto lemon trees."^ In 1893, the British Consul advised his government of the value of importing "young trees procured from Jaffa" to improve production in Australia and South Africa.(10)

All of this historical evidence from unimpeachable eyewitnesses destroys Israel's contention that it developed Palestine through its colonization. The legend that the Zionists have created, that they made "the desert bloom with roses," is totally without foundation. It is a ploy to gain donations from naive Jews throughout the world and to help extort economic aid from the American Congress. The economic achievements of Israel today are built totally on the capital base of lands, property and possessions usurped from the Palestinian Arabs.

The Zionists tell tourists, mainly Americans, that they "liberated this land when it was but a desolate desert." They point to the Arab orchards and citrus groves which they usurped and claim that Israeli "pioneers" planted them. They point to the twelve cities which were either entirely Arab or of mixed Jewish and Arab population, in which the Palestinian Arabs owned more than 75% of the houses and apartment buildings, as well as commercial and industrial buildings, and claim that they were built by Zionistenterprise. They changed the names of Arab towns and villages, settling Jews in Arab homes and on usurped Arab lands, and deny that Palestinian Arabs ever lived in these places.

Zionist myth-makers may persuade the innocent of their alleged achievements, but they themselves know the truth. In the words of Moshe Dayan:

We came to this country which was already populated by Arabs, and we are establishing a Hebrew, that is, a Jewish State here. Jewish villages were built in the place of Arab villages. You do not even know the names of these Arab villages, and I do not blame you, because these geography books no longer exist. Not only do the books not exist, the Arab villages are not there either. Nahalal arose in the place of Mahalul; Gevat in the place of Jibta; Sarid in the place of Haneifa and Kefar Yehoshua in the place of Tell Shaman. There is not one place built in this country that did not have a former Arab population.(11)

General (Reserve) Rehav'am Zeevi, who as a member of the Palmach and Haganah in 1948 took part in expelling the Palestinians, and who was Chief of Staff, southern command and central command, from 1955 to 1964, when he took part in theexpulsion of more Palestinians, addressed a symposium on the 2nd of March, 1988, of 150 Zionist leaders in the Zionist organization (Jewish Agency) House in Jerusalem. He was propagating the idea of the expulsion of Palestinians from the West Bank and Gaza. Joshua Brilliant, correspondent of the Jerusalem Post, who attended the meeting, stated the following:

Zeevi argued that "transfer" would be humane because the Palestinians would no longer be in the battle zone between the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) and the Arab armies. Seeking legitimacy for his views in Israeli history, he said that more than 400 Arab localities which were still in existence in the late '40's had been replaced by Jewish settlements, including some affiliated with Mapam's Hashomer Hatzair. Moreover, Levi Eshkol, the prime minister during the Six Day War, had set up an intelligence unit to deal with the question of expulsions. However, he was vague as to how the expulsions should take place. When pressed by a former intelligence chief, Aluf (res.) Shlomo Gazit, he advocated making Israel unattractive for Arabs. If they face unemployment, and a shortage of land and water, then "in a legitimate way, and in accordance with the Geneva Convention, we can create the necessary conditions for separation."(12)

These Arab towns and villages were not merely place names on a map. They were developed communities containing farms, factories, stores and schools, with an infrastructure of doctors, lawyers, teachers, engineers, merchants, mechanics, industrialists, workers and farmers which would be the envy of any developing country today. Yet the Zionists not only deny the developed state of the Palestine which they usurped or destroyed, but even deny the identity and existence of the Palestinians. They claim that the "British created the Palestinian identity ." This is easily belied by such evidence as the existence of a modem Arabic-language newspaper named Filastin, which addressed its readers as Palestinians in 1911, six years before the Balfour Declaration and well before the commencement of the British Mandate.(13)

But truth has never been important to the Zionists. What they destroyed or usurped has to be presented as nonexistent. Thus in 1969 Golda Myerson (alias Meir), a Russian-born U.S. citizen and Israeli Prime Minister, had the audacity to ask at a press conference in the United States, "Who are the Palestinians?"

The Palestinian Arabs are Christians and Muslims of great Arab cultural tradition and civilization, who had a well developed and prosperous economy before its destruction in 1948. Before 1948 they resided in twelve cities or major towns and 830 small towns and villages. Arab homes in the cities were either luxurious stone villas with beautiful gardens, or apartments with two to five bedrooms. These residences were well-furnished with modem furniture and household goods. No Arab home of the middle and upper classes contained less than eight valuable Persian carpets. All of these homes and their furnishing were usurped by Israel.

Even today, reduced to a refugee nation, the Palestinian Arabs have a high level of educational achievement. Palestinians hold many professional positions as doctors, lawyers, teachers and engineers, and operate successful commercial enterprises not only in the Arab world, but in the United States, Latin America, Western Europe and the British Commonwealth as well.

The growth rate of the Jewish economy in Palestine was artificial. In Mandate days, as in Israel today, it was totally dependent on outside subsidies to cover perpetual operating losses.

Contrary to the Zionist-created mythology, statistically and historically:

1. A prosperous, dynamically growing Palestinian Arab economy was destroyed by the Zionists, reducing the Palestinians to the status of a refugee nation.

2. Most of the Palestinian Arabs' lands, homes and possessions were usurped by the Zionists, and their owners were expelled.

3. These lands, homes and possessions rightfully and legally belong to the Palestinian Arabs and provide the underlying capital base of everything of value in Israel today.

In this chapter we shall show how the Palestinian Arabs were a well-developed nation socially, politically, culturally and economically by reviewing the political advancement of the Palestinian Arabs, Arab agriculture in Palestine, Palestine Arab industry, comparisons between the Arab and Jewish economies in Palestine, banking in Palestine, Palestine Arab education, health services in Palestine, the Palestine Arab labour movement, the Arabic press in Palestine, the cultural advancement of the Palestinian Arabs, and the holy places in Palestine.

THE POLITICAL ADVANCEMENT OF THE PALESTINIAN ARABS

The Zionists' claim that the Palestinian Arabs were without preparation for self-government is belied by the historical record.

The indigenous Palestine Arab population was recognized by Paragraph 4 of Article XXII of the League of Nations Covenant as "a provisionally independent nation." Palestine was placed under a Class A mandate, the very status of which indicated that the indigenous population was well advanced toward self-determination. It was solely the Zionist desire to bring about a Jewish majority in Palestine through immigration, opposed by the Palestinian Arabs almost unanimously, that obstructed imminent Palestinian independence.

The Palestinian Arabs were recognized by the mandatory power as the majority of the inhabitants of Palestine to be fit for independence by the White Paper of May, 1939. It stated that the object of his Majesty's Government is the "establishment of an independent Palestine state which should be one in which Arabs and Jews share in government in such a way as to ensure that the essential interests of each community are safeguarded." As was mentioned in chapter one, there were 309 high Government Arab officials and 30, 178 lower grade Arab officials in the Government of Palestine as compared to 117 high Jewish officials and 9,276 lower grade Jewish officials. The Arabs were the overwhelming majority in the local Government of the country. There were 18 mayors of 18 municipal councils, 11 Arab mayors as heads of the local councils and 40 Arab chairmen of village councils. In 1945 there were 1,047 Arab lawyers in Palestine.(14)

The political advancement of the Palestinian Arabs was fully described by the Palestine Government in pages 946- 954 of its A Survey of Palestine, Prepared in December 1945 and January 1946 for the Information of the Anglo-American Committee of Inquiry and pages 139-141 of the Supplement to Survey ofpalestine, Notes Compiled for the Information of the United Nations Special Committee on Palestine, which herein we reproduce verbatim:

The first phase of Arab political activity in Palestine, from 1919-1934, was marked by a series of congresses. Immediately after the British occupation an association called the Moslem-Christian Association was formed in Palestine with branches throughout the country. This association was inspired largely by the larger movement towards Arab unity and independence which culminated in the entry into Damascus of the Amir Feisal (later King Feisal I of Iraq). Representatives from Palestine attended the General Syrian Congress held at Damascus on the 8th June, 1919, at which Jewish immigration and the Balfour Declaration were discussed.

A second Palestine Arab congress was held at Damascus on the 27th February, 1920; a third Palestine Arab congress was held at Haifa on the 14th December, 1920, at which an executive committee was formed under the presidency of the late Musa Kazem Pasha el Husseini in order to deal with the questions raised by the congress after its dispersion.

A fourth Palestine Arab congress was held at Jerusalem on the 25th June, 1921. This congress elected a delegation of eight persons to proceed to London, where it exchanged correspondence with the Secretary of State for the Colonies which was published in Command Paper No. 1700 presented to Parliament in June, 1922. The statement of policy by His Majesty's Government in 1922 was made after negotiations between the delegation and the Secretary of State. On the return of the delegation, the fifth Palestine Arab congress was held at Nablus on the 22nd August, 1922.

A second Arab delegation was elected in 1922 by the fourth Arab congress and visited Egypt, Turkey, Lausanne and London. A third delegation visited London again, in 1922, during negotiations for a treaty with the late King Hussein. A sixth Palestine Arab congress was held at Jaffa on the 16th June, 1923.

A seventh Palestine Arab congress was held at Jerusalem on the 20th June, 1928, when a new executive of forty-eight persons was elected. The executive in turn elected an administrative staff consisting of a president, three secretaries and two members. This Arabexecutive committee elected the members of the fourth Arab delegation which proceeded to London on the 21st March, 1930, to present the Arab case immediately after the publication of the report of the Commission of Enquiry into the 1929 disturbances headed by Sir Walter Shaw.

In March, 1934, the unity that had been found by representative Palestinian Arabs in a series of congresses was broken by the death of Musa Kazem Pasha el Husseini, who, from 1920, had acted as permanent president of all the Arab congresses and Arab committees in Palestine. There arose a division of opinion in Arab circles as to the appointment of a successor. Yacoub Eff. Farraj, the Arab Christian vice-president of the Arab executive, was appointed as acting president to replace him. No agreement was reached as to the appointment of a permanent Moslem president.

With the death of Musa Kazem Pasha, Palestine Arab politics entered a new phase. In the place of representation by a series of congresses working through the Arab executive committee, the Arab leaders formed parties of their own; and since 1934 the varying relations of these parties have affected Arab political life. In April, 1936, with the predominance of Haj Amin Effendi el Husseini, Mufti of Jerusalem and President of the Supreme Muslim Council, the party leaders drew together to cooperate in a body known as the "Arab Higher Committee" under the chairmanship of Haj Amin. This committee, which assumed the direction of Arab policy throughout the disturbances of 1936, was made illegal by an order under the Emergency Regulations in 1937. Haj Amin and other leaders fled and were exiled; others were deported to the Seychelles. Thereafter there ceased to be any central representative Arab political body in Palestine until, on the 23rd November, 1945, the mediation of Jamil Bey Mardam, Syrian Minister to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, succeeded in inducing the Arab leaders to cooperate in a new "Arab Higher Committee."

Apart from the rivalry between the parties the Arab population has been, broadly speaking, aligned behind the families of Husseini andNashashibi. These two families, both of which have enjoyed wealth, influence and office in Palestine for generations, came into conflict in 1920, when Musa Kazem Pasha el Husseini, on account of his extreme nationalist views and the part he had played in the disturbances of the 4th April, 1920, was forced to resign the mayoralty of Jerusalem in favour of Ragheb Bey Nashashibi. This feud, which became more intense during the disturbances of 1936- 1939, is now in abeyance. The parties are as follows:

THE PALESTINE ARAB PARTY

This party was founded in May, 1935, under the presidency of Jamal Eff. el Husseini, a distant cousin of Haj Amin Eff. el Husseini. Its objects are the independence of Palestine and the termination of the Mandate; the preservation of the Arab character of the country; opposition to Zionism; and the establishment of closer relations between Palestine and other Arab countries.

The Palestine Arab party has always been the largest and most important of the Arab political parties, chiefly because it is preeminently the party of Haj Amin. Jamal Eff. el Husseini took refuge with Haj Amin in Syriaand the Lebanon in 1937. Subsequently he fled to Iraq and, after the failure of the revolt of Rashid Ali el Gailani in 1941, to Persia. He was arrested in Persia in 1941, and detained in Southern Rhodesia, from whence he has now been released.

Tewfiq Eff. Saleh el Husseini, the brother of Jamal, was chosen as acting president of the Palestine Arab party on its revival, after a momentary eclipse, in 1942. The secretary of the party, Emil Eff. Ghoury, is a Christian.

THE NATIONAL DEFENCE PARTY

This party was formed in December, 1934, under the presidency of Ragheb Bey Nashashibi, C.B.E. In general it is less extreme than the Palestine Arabparty. Its object is to work for the independence of Palestine in such a manner as to ensure Arab supremacy. It acknowledges no international obligations which may prejudice Arab independence or permit the introduction of any foreign influence, whether in political or administrative affairs.

Among the members of this party are a number of notables of influence and standing, including several mayors and chairmen of municipal commissions. Through the influence of Suleiman Bey Toukan, C.B.E., Mayor of Nablus, it commands wide support in Samaria.

Ragheb Bey Nashashibi joined the first Arab Higher Committee in 1936, but was never a wholehearted supporter of Haj Amin Eff. el Husseini. He maintained his position as a moderate and finally withdrew from the Higher Committee, thus escaping the fate of his colleagues when the committee was dissolved and its members exiled or deported in 1937. In consequence, members of the Nashashibi family and the Defence party suffered losses in lives and property at the hands of the Arab gangs between 1937 and 1939. For that reason the Defence party gave considerable assistance to the authorities in counter-measures against gangs and terrorists during those years. Four members of the party, headed by Ragheb Bey, visited London early in 1939 and had discussions with His Majesty's Government.

Soon after the publication of the White Paper of 1939 (Command No. 6019) by His Majesty's Government Ragheb Bey Nashashibi proclaimed its acceptance by his party.

THE ARAB REFORM PARTY

This party was formed in August, 1935. Its objects are the attainment of freedom for Palestine; the establishment of self-government; the welfare of fanners and workers; the encouragement of education; and opposition to a Jewish National Home. It was formed by Dr. Hussein Fakhri el Khalidi to strengthen his position after his election as Mayor of Jerusalem in 1934.

This party has never, as a party, had any appreciable influence over public opinion. Dr. Hussein Khalidi, personally, has considerable influence in Jerusalem and his views are given wide publicity in the local Arabpress. He was amember of the first Arab Higher Committee and was deported to the Seychelles in 1937.

THE NATIONAL BLOC PARTY

This party was formed in Nablus in July, 1935, under the presidency of Abdul Latif Bey Saleh, a lawyer and former official of the Ottoman Senate at Istanbul. Its declared objects are: to work for the independence and preservation of the Arab character of Palestine; to unify all political efforts of the Palestinian Arabs; and to disseminate propaganda for this purpose.

The influence of this party is now small and very local, being chiefly derived from limited areas around Nablus and Jaffa.

THE ISTIQLALIST (INDEPENDENCE) PARTY

This party, properly speaking, is the Palestine branch of the Pan-Arab Independence party founded by the followers of the Amir Feisal in Damascus in 1920. The general secretary of this branch is Auni Bey Abdul Hadi. Its declared aim is the independence of Arab countries; it bases itself upon the principle that Arab countries are an indivisible entity, and that Palestine is an Arab country, historically and geographically an integral part of Syria. In Palestine itself the party has now little influence; but Auni Bey himself, when he was private secretary to the Amir Feisal in Damascus between 19 18-20, acquired a close acquaintanceship with Arab politicians who now hold high office throughout the Middle East.

THE PALESTINE YOUTH PARTY

This organisation is not strictly speaking aparty. Although now commonly called the "Palestine Youth party" its more correct title is the Arab Young Men's Congress Executive. The first Arab young men's congress was held at Jaffa in 1932, with the object of organising the Arab youth to serve the Palestine Arab cause. The congress elected an executive under the presidency of Ya'coub Eff. el Ghussein. Its influence is now small and localised, being confined chiefly to the areas around Jaffa and Ramle.

THE FIRST ARAB HIGHER COMMITTEE

The first Arab Higher Committee was formed on the 26th April, 1936, to coordinate the work of the national committee which had been formed in the different towns of Palestine for the purpose of dealing with questions of major policy regarding the Arab cause. The chairman was Haj Amin Eff. el The Palestinian Arabs Were a Well-Developed Nation Politically, Economically, Socially, and Culturally 37 Husseini, who thus reached the zenith of his career as the virtually unopposed leader of the Palestinian Arabs. The five major Arab political parties were all represented. At the time of its formation an Arab general strike was already in progress throughout Palestine. The first act of the new committee was to adopt a resolution "to continue the general strike until the British Government changes its policy in a fundamental manner, the beginning of which is the stoppage of Jewish immigration." It also called for the prohibition of the transfer of Arab lands to Jews.

Throughout the disturbances of 1936 and 1937, Haj Amin continued to direct Arab affairs through the Arab Higher Committee. The latent feud between Husseini and Nashashibi, however, could not long be repressed. On the 3rd July, 1937, the Defence party withdrew from the Higher Committee. One of the various reasons published in support of this step was that the Higher Committee was taking no steps to prevent the growing evil of political assassination, which was creating a widening cleavage among the Arabs of Palestine.

In October, 1937, the first Arab Higher Committee was declared unlawful. Its members were arrested and deported to the Seychelles, with the exception of the chairman, Haj Amin Eff. el Husseini and Jamal Eff. Husseini, who managed to escape to the Lebanon, the Defence party representatives who had resigned, and Abdul Latif Bey Salah, who also escaped.

After 1937, Haj Amin and his associates fostered the disturbances from their refuges in Syria and the Lebanon. There was no longer any central body directing the political activities of the Palestinian Arabs. Those members of the first Arab Higher Committee who had been deported in 1937, were allowed to return to the Middle East in January, 1939. After consultations with Haj Amin Eff. el Husseini some of them were appointed members of a delegation which visited London in February, 1939, under the leadership of Jamal Eff. Husseini, for discussions with his Majesty's Government.

With the waning of the disturbances in 1939, the power of Haj Amin dwindled and Arab political life became increasingly stagnant, apart from the effort made to rally the Defence party in support of the White Paper in May, 1939. With the outbreak of war Arab party activity came to a standstill. Haj Amin and his personal coterie engaged in the pro-Axis intrigues which culminated in the Rashid Ali revolt in Iraq.

THE SECOND ARAB HIGHER COMMITTEE

In 1942 Arab political life began slowly to revive in reaction to the Zionist political aims adopted under the Biltmore programme. The need for another representative body to represent all Arab parties was increasingly discussed. The sporadic efforts made to create a new Higher Committee at first came to naught, partly because there was no sense of urgency, and partly because the Palestine Arab party (the Husseini party) claimed a predominance which the other parties were reluctant to concede.

In 1944 the disadvantage arising from the absence of a representative Arab body was emphasized by the preliminary discussions which led to the first meeting of Arab statesmen at Alexandria and the eventual foundation of the Arab League. Since it was desired to associate the Arabs of Palestine with these discussions it was necessary that they should be invited to send a representative. Negotiations for the formation of a new Higher Committee therefore acquired a new impetus, but renewed failure to agree led to the choice of one non-party Arab, Musa Eff. el Alami, as the Palestine Arab representative at the Arab unity talks at Alexandria and Cairo.

Throughout 1944 and 1945 fruitless negotiations continued among the Arab leaders, despite the attempts of the Amir Adullah of Transjordan and prominent Arabs from Egypt, Iraq and Syria to induce the Palestinian Arabs to reach an understanding.

Following the statement on Palestine by His Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in the House of Commons on the 13th November, 1945, and the subsequent discussions thereon by the council of the Arab League, arenewed and determined attempt was made to induce the Palestinian Arabs to unite at a time when the whole future of Palestine was under discussion. Accordingly, Jamil Mardam Bey, chairman of the current session of the council of the Arab League, and Syrian Minister to Egypt and Saudi Arabia, visited Palestine. After prolonged discussions a new Arab Higher Committee was announced on the 23rd November, 1945.

The second Arab Higher Committee consists of the following members:

There is no chairman of the second Arab Higher Committee, the chair being taken in rotation at each session. Musa Eff. el Alami, Emile Eff. Ghoury and Yacoub Eff. Ghussein were later appointed to represent the Arab Higher Committee at the meeting of the Council of the Arab League in Cairo in November, 1945.

RELATIONS WITH THE ARAB LEAGUE

The wider political issues in regard to the Arab League are outside the scope of this memorandum; but it should be noted that, from its inception, the connection between Palestine Arabs and a union of Arab states was a close one. Prior to the Arab unity discussions in Cairo in October, 1944, visiting Arab statesmen had discussed the Palestine problem with local politicians and had been asked for assistance. The interest in the Palestine question shown by the Arab populations of the surrounding countries, and the repeated emphasis in the press on the position of Palestine as a "sister Arab State" rendered it inevitable that when the time came for the first preliminary discussions on Arab unity, the participation of Palestine Arabs by some means or another could not be excluded.

In 1944, however, the Palestine Arab parties still found themselves unable to agree on a formula on which to found a representative political body, or to send a delegation to the Arab unity discussions at Alexandria. The Palestine Arabs therefore found themselves faced with the prospect that Palestine, a country which they claimed to be an integral part of the Arab world and a vital link between its component parts, would not be represented at the discussions which it was hoped would agree upon an organization to defend Arab interests everywhere, not the least in Palestine. Accordingly Musa Eff. el Alami who, in his retirement from politics, had acquired a reputation as a man above party, and who was connected by marriage with the Husseini family, was prevailed upon by the Arab leaders to represent them at Alexandria in October, 1944.

The protocol published at the close of the Alexandria discussions contained the following resolutions on Palestine:

"Part 5 (a). The committee considers that Palestine constitutes one of the important elements of Arab countries and that the rights of the Palestine Arabs cannot be affected without danger to the peace and stability of the Arab world. The Committee considers that the engagements taken by Great Britain which involve the stoppage of Jewish immigration, the safeguarding of lands belonging to the Arabs, and the progress of Palestine towards independence, constitute acquired rights by the Arabs, and that their execution will be a step towards their goal towards the strengthening of peace and stability. The Committee proclaims its support of the Palestine cause for the realisation of its legitimate aspirations and for the safeguarding of its just rights. The Committee declares that as much as anyone it has a compassion for the sufferings which the Jews have endured in Europe by the action of States under a dictatorial regime, but the case of these Jews must not be confounded with Zionism, for nothing would be more unjust than to wish to settle the question of European Jews by another injustice, the victims of which would be the Palestinian Arabs to whatever religion or confession they belong.

"(b). The proposal concerning the participation of Arab Governments and peoples in the fund destined to preserve Arab lands in Palestine will be referred to the Commission on economic and financial questions for examination and submission of the result at its next meeting."

The constitution of the Arab League, based on the results of the preliminary discussions at Alexandria, was signed at the Zafaran Palace, Cairo on March 22nd, 1945. The special annex on Palestine reads as follows:

"At the termination of the last Great War, the Arab countries were detached from the Ottoman Empire. These included Palestine, a wilayet of that Empire, which became autonomous, depending on no other power. The Treaty of Lausanne proclaimed that the question of Palestine was not the concern of the interested parties, and, although she was not in a position to direct her own affairs, the Covenant of the League of Nations of 1919 settled her regime on the basis of the acknowledgment of her independence. Her international existence and independence are therefore a matter of no doubt from the legal point of view, just as there is no doubt about the independence of the other Arab countries. Although the external aspects of that independence are not apparent owing to force of circumstances, this should not stand in the way of her participation in the work of the Council of the League.

"The States that have signed the Covenant of the Arab League consider therefore that, owing to the peculiar circumstances of Palestine and until that country enjoys effective independence, the Council of the Arab League should undertake the selection of an Arab delegate from Palestine to participate in its work."

Thus the Arab population of Palestine was admitted to the deliberations of the Arab League and to participation in common social and cultural matters. Since the Covenant was signed only by independent or semi-independent States, the Palestine representative was not also asked to sign, although he was present at the ceremony.

After the signature of the Covenant of the Arab League, Musa Eff. el Alami devoted himself to two projects which touched Palestine most closely and which derived from the Article on Palestine in the protocol of the Alexandria conference. These projects were the opening of Arab publicity offices to explain the Arab case to the world and the scheme to save Arab land from purchase by the Jews. Musa Eff. el Alami was charged by the Alexandriaconference to organise the Arab publicity offices and to submit to the council of the League the proposals to save Arab lands in Palestine. These have now been opened in London, Washington and Jerusalem, the Jerusalem office being primarily intended to supply the material for the use of the offices in London and Washington. The purpose of these offices has been defined by Musa Eff. el Alami himself as "to give the English and American public accurate information and correct views about the Arab world and thus to improve Anglo-Arab and Arab-American relations." It was originally intended that the Arab offices should be administered by the council of the Arab League through a sub-committee with a permanent director, resident in Cairo, and a small secretariat. The present tendency is for Musa Eff. el Alami to be solely responsible to each individual state for the management of the Arab offices.

The plan for a campaign to save Arab lands has not yet emerged from the preliminary stages of discussion.

THE THIRD ARAB HIGHER COMMITTEE

The second Arab Higher Committee did not function for long, as the members of the parties (other than the Palestine Arab Party) and Musa Eff. el Alami soon withdrew their cooperation.

Soon after his return from Rhodesia, at the beginning of 1946, Jamal Eff. el Husseini formed a third committee under his own leadership consisting of the Palestine Arab Party members of the previous committee and the following:

The formation of the third committee was followed by the formation of the Arab Higher Front in June, 1946, including the five major parties other than the Palestine Arab party, the League of National Liberation and the Palestine Arab Workers' Society.

The Arab National Front never became active since both it and the third Arab Higher Committee decided to cease all activities on the formation of the Fourth Arab Higher Committee.

THE FOURTH ARAB HIGHER COMMITTEE

This Committee was formed as a result of the extraordinary meeting of the Arab League at Bludan (Syria) in June, 1946. It consisted of: Jamal Eff. el Husseini (Vice Chairman), Dr. Hussein el Khalidi (Secretary), Ahmed Hilmi Pasha and Emile Eff. el Ghoury.

The reason for the appointment of Jamal Eff. el Husseini as Vice-chairman was that the post of Chairman was held for Haj Amin el Husseini, although this fact has not been stated officially to Government.

In January, 1947, the Committee was enlarged by the addition of:

Sheikh Hassan Abu Saoud (Palestine Arab Party) Izzat Eff. Darwazeh (Palestine Arab Party) Ishaq Eff. Darwish (Palestine Arab Party) Mu'in Eff. el Madi (Palestine Arab Party) Rafiq Eff. Tamimi (Palestine Arab Party)

The Committee now existing is that containing the persons mentioned in the two preceding paragraphs. Its headquarters are in Jerusalem but its meetings have frequently been held in Egypt. It has under it the following departments:

1. The Treasury (Beit el Mal) headed by Dr. Izzat Tannous.

2. Department of National Economy (concerned with general economic matters and in particular the boycott of Jewish goods).

3. Department of Lands (concerned mainly with preventing the sale of Arab lands to Jews).

4. Department of National Reconstruction (concerned largely with youth movements).

5. Department of National Aid (concerned with the relief of the dependents of Arabs who were killed in the disturbances and of Arab prisoners, etc.).

The Treasury has formulated schemes for the raising of funds by means of direct and indirect voluntary contributions, and it is understood that these plans are being put into effect in the present financial year for which the budget is 220,000 Palestinian Pounds. It has a number of advisory committees in the main Arab towns.

The organisation of the other departments appears to be less advanced than that of the Treasury. In particular two of the main problems which the Arab Higher Committee has been endeavouring to solve in order to unify the national effort are still outstanding, namely the existence of two separate schemes for the "saving" of Arab lands and of two rival youth organisations. Further information on these matters is given below.

The Arab Higher Committee was invited by H.M. Government to nominate a delegation to the London Conference on Palestine in January, 1947. The invitation was accepted and the following delegation attended the Conference:

Jamal Eff. el Husseini (Arab higher Committee) Emile Eff. el Ghoury (Arab Higher Committee) Dr. Hussein el Khalidi (Arab Higher Committee) Sami Eff. Taha (Palestine Arab Workers' Society) Dr. Omar el Khalil (Left Wing) Yusef Eff. Sahyoun (Palestine Arab Party)

Since the formation of the fourth Arab Higher Committee one or more of its members have represented the Arabs of Palestine as observers at meetings of the Arab League.

LAND SAVING SCHEMES

These are two:

(a) The Arab National Fund, headed by Ahmed Hilmi Pasha and therefore closely allied to the Arab Higher Committee. It is concerned with the various aspects of rural development and in particular with the acquisition of land, the sale of which to Jews is threatened, and its transfer to peasant cultivators. It raises its funds by voluntary subscriptions and has already acquired substantial areas of land. (b) The Constructive Scheme, which is the secondof Musa Eff. el Alami's activities, is concerned with rural development and in particular with the improvement of agricultural methods. Like the Arab Offices it arises from the protocol of the Alexandria Conference and is supported by the Arab League. It was intended that the Arab States should supply the funds but it has as yet not started to function on a wide scale.

YOUTH MOVEMENTS

The Arab youth of Palestine have, like the youth of the rest of the world, increasingly felt the attraction of uniformed national or nationalistic organisation. The recognised Scout Movement (described in paragraph 94 of Chapter XVI of the Survey amlestine) has not hitherto succeeded in meeting the need felt for such organisation and there have consequently arisen a number of independent movements modelled on Scout lines but tinged, to a lesser or greater degree, with nationalism and militarism. The more important of these are:

(a) The Palestine Arab Boy Scout Association is a nonpolitical body, organised on recognised Scout lines, and is in process of becoming affiliated to the International Bureau through a Scout Federation. It is headed by Fawzi Eff. Nashashibi.

(b) The Futuwah (Youth) Organisation which is the revival of an earlier organisation existing in 1935 under the aegis of Haj Amin el Husseini. It was reformed in 1946 and is the youth organisation of the Palestine Arab Party. It is headed by Kamel Eff. Areikat.

(c) The Najjada (Helpers) Organisation, is a non-party organisation formed by Mohammed Nimr Eff. el Hawari in October, 1945.

Both the Futuwah and Najjada Organisations are uniformed bodies modelled on Rover Scout lines with a strong nationalistic and anti-Zionist complexion. It is frequently stated that both are para-military formations but little evidence is available to substantiate such assertions. It is difficult to estimate the strength of these organisations but they have undoubtedly exercised a strong attraction for that part (still a small proportion of the whole) of Arab youth which has felt the desire for national organisation.(15)

ARAB AGRICULTURE IN PALESTINE

The first factor to be assessed in valuing agricultural land is its natural value created by climatic and soil composition features. Zionist propagandists claim that they gave value to worthless land. They falsely state that they made the desert bloom with roses. This lie is exposed through the evaluation of Walter C. Lowdermilk, who was Assistant Chief of the United States Soil Conservation Service. In a study of the natural agricultural potential of Palestine, "Palestine: A Promise for the Middle East," Lowdermilk favorably compares Palestine to California:

The similarity of Southern California and Palestine is so close in climate, topography, soils and vegetation that the present condition of similarly placed areas in California is a reliable index of the early condition of the land of Palestine. Vegetation varied from desert scrub on lower slopes of the Jordan Valley and Dead Sea, to luxuriant forests of Cedars of Lebanon on the flanks of Mount Hermon, similar to the desert vegetation from Coachella Valley below sea level in Southern California to pine and fir forests on lower slopes of Mt. Baldy (10,000 feet) in the San Gabriel Range. Rainfall favours Palestine, for Jaffa gets more rain 2 1.5 inches) per annum than Los Angeles (15.2 inches), and the Mt. Hermon mountain land mass gets up to 70 inches of rain while Mt. Baldy only 50 inches. Other comparisons are striking. The region of the Jordan River, including Palestine and Trans-Jordan and the maritime slopes, is quite similar to California, but has an added advantage of its limestone country rock. The climates are alike, the natural vegetation, the physiographic features, except for the great limestone springs in Palestine. Similar crops may be grown. Differences are that soils of Palestine were uniformly better, that uplands have been badly eroded from misuse, and that slopes of Palestine favoured tree crops and were terraced where surface rock was ready at hand.(16)

California is among the most productive agricultural areas of the world, due to the intrinsic value of its climate and soil. As the "soils of Palestine were uniformly better" than those of California, one can objectively assess the mammoth wealth stolen from the native Palestinian people by the Zionists through the usurpation of their agricultural lands.

The British Mandate improved the conditions of the Palestinian farmer, removing intolerable taxation and providing responsible administration that led to the ultimate removal of his debt load. This was accomplished despite the worldwide depression during part of the Mandate period, the three year Arab revolt (1936-39), and the absence of outside investment and aid. The Palestinian Arabs' phenomenal agricultural growth rate was due to internally generated profits being reinvested.

The Jewish agricultural growth rate in Palestine was artificially dependent on subsidized prices and outside subsidies of annual deficits. The Palestinian Arab growth rate was real, the result of a very high profitability lacking in the Jewish sector of Palestine.

The statistical profitability of Palestinian Arab farms is shown in the following randomly selected examples:

1. A family farm comprising 95 dunums in the hills of Ramallah of the Jerusalem sub-district had a Net Income of 57.7% of its Gross Income.

2. A non-irrigated family farm comprising 135 dunums in the Jenin sub-district had a Net Income of 52.4% of its Gross Income.

3. A family farm comprising 87 dunums, with 12 dunums irrigated, in the inland plains had a Net Income of 40.7% of its Gross Income.(17)

The following table gives the gross figures for the above randomly selected statistical examples.(18)

The profitability factor of the Palestinian Arab farmer shown above, proves that once his debt load had been alleviated, he had surplus to reinvest. If the destruction of Palestinian life had not taken place, today Palestine might be a model of economic growth.

CITRUS GROVES

The most important agricultural exports of Palestine were citrus crops, the only profitable sector of Jewish agriculture and then only profitable because of the utilization of Arab labor by Jewish citrus growers, over the violent objections of the Zionist establishment and Jewish terrorist groups. The following table shows the amount of citrus groves under Arab ownership in 1947(19):

ARAB-OWNED CITRUS GROVES

The purely Arab-owned citrus groves comprised 127,377 dunums, or 52% of the total acreage in citrus groves in Palestine. Of these, 1 17,770 dunums were devoted to oranges, or 54% of the total acreage of orange groves in Palestine.

Arabs owned 105,486 dunums of Shamouti (Jaffa) orange groves (55% of the total in Palestine), and 12,284 dunums of Valencia orange groves (48% of the total in Palestine). Arabs owned 4, 192 dunums planted with lemons (52% of the total in Palestine), and 2,354 dunums planted with grapefruit (16% of the total in Palestine).

CITRUS EXPORTS

The leading agricultural export in Palestine was citrus fruit. The following table enumerates the exports from 1920- 1939(20):

CITRUS EXPORTS TO SEASON 1938-39

In 1939 it is estimated that Arab-owned oranges exported comprised 54% of the total or 7,050, 116 cases.

In 1939 it is estimated that Arab-owned grapefruit exported comprised 16% of the total or 206,683 cases.

In 1939 it is estimated that Arab-owned lemons exported comprised 52% of the total or 73,966 cases.

In 1948 the Zionists seized 90% of Arab-owned citrus groves, packaging and storage facilities, as well as that year's crop, looting the prosperous Arab citrus growers and making them destitute refugees.

FRUITS (EXCLUDING CITRUS)

From ancient times Palestine was renowned for its fruits. Palestinian orchards and vineyards represented a continuous tradition for millennia, and the quality of the trees and vines was passed from generation to generation within Palestinian families.

Of a total yield of 280,068 :ons of fruit in 1943, excluding citrus fruits, 73% was produced by Arabs (by value), including 95% of the melons, 96% of the almonds, 57% of the apples, 60% of the bananas and 100% of the figs.

Following are the statistics of Area, Production and Value of Principal Crops for the year 1943(21):

80% of the fruit orchards and vineyards, including irrigated land, were usurped by the Zionists. Farmers who held great pride in their tradition and who had lived a decent, prosperous life were reduced to refugees, their specialized family-inherited agricultural skills lost to the world.

OLIVES

In 1945 Palestine had 600,100 dunums of land planted with olive trees, 99% Arab-owned. Production was 79,469 tons in 1945. This represented an increase of 404% from 1936. The olive plantations were the source of the important olive oil industry in Palestine.(22) Both as regards area and oil production, Palestine contributed about one percent to the world's total.

GRAINS AND LEGUMES

In 1942 Palestine produced 304,886 tons of grains and legumes. The two principal crops were wheat and barley. Palestinian Arabs produced 90% by value of all the grains and legumes produced in Palestine.

Following is a table(2)3 of Palestinian production of grains and legumes between 1936 and 1942, showing an increase of 68% of production between those two years despite a decrease in area sown in these crops from 6,365.6 square kilometers in 1936 to 5,589.4 square kilometers in 1942. This indicates an increase in productivity of 90% per dunum during this period.

80% of the unharvested grains and legumes belonging to Palestinian Arab farmers in 1948 were either destroyed or harvested by the Zionists.

VEGETABLES

In 1944-45 Palestine produced 244,834 tons of vegetables, of which 77% were produced by Palestinian Arab farmers.

Following is a Table providing the number of dunums planted with vegetables and the tonnage of vegetables produced. One dunum is equal to 1,000 square meters; four dunums are equal to one acre.

ARAB VEGETABLE PRODUCTION, 1944-45(24)

The following is the percentage of each vegetable crop produced by Arab farmers of the total production of the vegetable in Palestine:

The rapid growth of Palestinian Arab agriculture can be shown by various examples. Tomatoes, of which Arabs produced 91% of the total in Palestine, increased by 249% in terms of dunums planted between 1935 and 1944, and production increased by 350% in the same period. Cucumbers, of which Arabs produced 8 1 % of the total in Palestine, increased by 153% in terms of dunums planted between 1935 and 1944, and production increased by 244% in the same period.

All Arab vegetable farms in 80% of the territory of Palestine were usurped in 1948, and vegetable crops in the fields were either destroyed or usurped.

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