Jewish Community Relations Council, Boston, Massachusetts

              Fourth Class ( BOSTONJkWTURDAY, JANUARY 19, 1957
|Archbishop of Galilee Mourns Life
Of Fellow Arabs Under Israeli Rule
i
'(The author
stfif in the Middle,
ticlcs recording
recently returned from an extended*
Vast. This is the first in a series of ar-
observations there.—Ed.)
SDWARD R. F. SHEEHAN
NAZARETH, Israel - - It conquering the Gas» Staip,
Israel capturm 200,000 Arab tefugees who had fled eight
years ago wlfen the new Jewish state was chopped out of
Arab Palestine. •
These   refugees   have   endured t 	
an     unspeakable     squalor     and
privation
since  194
AI thou:
to flee
to   smal
escape
few su
"Hei
the  camps of Gaza
many  of  them   tried
thward or crowded in-
boats in   attempts   to
recent Israeli invasion,
eeded.
an opportunity," com-
J n
lit th
Is#el wl
is
mentcd the liberal Manchester
Guardian, "for Israel to retrieve
in some measure the good name
she has sacrificed . . . Her enemies—and still more her friends
—will judge her on how she-
treats these unhappy people.'
If Israel had risen to the
casion and had treated the •■
Arabs well, It might have nn-Jnt
nr-w hope to the Arabs who lad
already been within her jurisdiction for eight year*. But Israel
his not risen to the occasion. As
biilly off as they were when the
IJgyptians held flaza, the refugees ar© even worse off now.
That tficy have not faded away
altogether is due, not to any
nascent Israeli altruism, but to
the pitifully meagre rations still
allowed them by the United Nations. Food riots, economic
paralysis, shop shutdowns, squalor
heaped upon squalor—these have
been the order of the day since
Israel  ocupled  Gaza.
Prior to the Gaza victory,
there were already 200.000 Arabs
in Israel—the Arabs who did not
or could not flee when the new
naUon came into being. Many of
them live in or near Nazareth,
and a visit among them confirms
they are third and fourth class
citizens. Of course, Israel claims
reasons for denying to the Arabs
many of the privileges which
other citizens enjoy. "Every
Arab In Israel is a potential part
of the Arab fifth column which
is .dedicated to helping our AVab
neighbors destroy us," govern-
mefct spokesman say. "Therefore,
wej have to watch them and restrict  them."
they   insis
Iority   of
ause   the
hem to, t
hem were
FEW DARE SPEAK
there are a few peopl* In
ho dare to speak up fend
say more. The most proml|cnt
of these is Msgr. Georges Hakim,
the Eastern Rite Archbishop of
Galilee. Archbishop Hakim, an
Arab who fought the foundation
of Israel in 1948 bitterly, but
now accepts Israel as a permanent
fact, is presently allowed to Hay
nearly whatever he likes. Formerly, the government tried to
muffle him, but found he could
not be kept silent
For Msgr. Hakim considers
himself the spokesman of all
Arabs—Christian and Moslem
alike—in Israel.
"Xo matter what the government people say," Msgr. Hakim
| began, "no matter how mich
they insist that the vast ma-
Arabs fled Israel /be-
thelr own leaders urged
the fact is that most of
were terrorized out.
"But we i-oiSil begin to forget
that—if the Ajhibs who were left
in Israel wire well treated.
Israel says if wants to live in
with its Arab neighbors.
The best way to prove the sin-
eerity of that stjitement would be
to begin treating the Arabs Inside Israel decently. The Arabs
hero could be a bridge to tho
Arabs outside. Their conditions
of life could be n demonstration
of Israel's good faith to the Arab
world.
"There Is no religious discrimination against Arabs as such in
Israel, but there Is real economic
discrimination. It is so severe
that in many cases It has reduced
the Arabs to destitution. An
Arab who wants to travel in
Israel, even if only to find work,
ittust be Issued a special pebnit
w|ich he cannot always obtiin.
Hfc free circulation Is prevented
un4cr   the  pretext  that   military
security will not permit Arabs,
whose sympathies are suspect, to
come ind go as they li*e.
"Tlfe real reason why Arabs
are restricted in their travel, especially to the cities. Is not for
•military security" but to prevent
them from competing for the
good jobs. The Histradruth excludes them and discriminates
against  them."
Government apologists claim
that the Arabs are far better off
now than they were before Israel
became a state. They claim the
govAnmcnt has improved Arab
agriculture and medical care and
has/ Introduced compulsory education. Archbishop Hakim retorts: "These advances apply to
only 20 per cent of the Arab
population. Tho other 80 per cent
are miserable."
'ABSENTEE OWNERS'
The Israeli government has
progressively deprived the Arabs
of their lands by passing a series
of laws handing the properties
over to Jewish settlers, Msgr.
Hakim says. "The first law. passed in 1948, confiscated the property of all 'absentee' owners in
Israel, and defined an 'absentee'
as anyone w-ho fled his ordinary
residence, even if he remained In
Israel. Many of these Arabs were
'absentees' because they had
simply been driven off their lands
by terror gangs. Seventy to 80
per cent of the Arabs in Israel
were   declared   'absentees.' "
Many of the Arabs not affected by the first law, Msgr. Hakim
claims, were affected by tho "Uncultivated Land Law" of 1949.
This provided that any land not
used by the owners would be
confiscated for five years. "But
many Arabs not using their land
were for tho most part prevented
from getting/to it by the 'military security I restrictions agnluM
them!"  he declared. /
Finally,  ths) Israeli government
crkctcd a new law in 1953
mkncnUy expropriating all
laHd previously confiscated
liv* years. "The original Arab
owners were compensated at a
rate that was not enough to buy
most of them a fortnight's supply
jof meat," Msgr. Hakim concluded.
INFERIOR CITIZENS
Shortly after speaking with
sgr. Hakim, this correspondent
met Abu Hanna, an Arab and
one of the leaders of the Communist party in Nazareth, which
is tho Communist stronghold of
Israel. Nazareth sent two Arab
Communists to the Knesset
(Parliament) In the last election.
Many Arab villages in Israel,
as Abu Hanna said, are without
electricity or the rudest requirements. (I visited several.) Even
Arab policeman must carry a
"B" card, signifying Inferior
citizenship. Arabs do not receive
equal  pay for equal  work.
It soon became evident that the
great number of Arabs in Israel
who vote Communist do so, not
ecause    they   understand    what
mmuntsm is, but because it is
e only means of protest they
ve against the government.
1