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MAIL

(Ed, Note--The Crimson does not necessarily endorse opinions expressed in printed communications. No attention will be paid to anonymous letters and only under special conditions, at the request of the writer, will names be withheld. Only letters under 400 words can be printed because of space limitations.)

To the Editor of the Crimson:

The editorial "Land of Milk and Honey" in the Crimson of March 1 contains many statements to which a careful student of the Palestine problem must take exception. The conclusion that the British plan for an independent Arab-controlled Palestine is the only feasible solution of the problem is derived from untenable assumptions and misstatements of fact.

The Mandate over Palestine granted to Great Britain by the Allied Powers at San Remo incorporated the Balfour Declaration for a Jewish National Home and did not give the Arabs control of this territory. The Hebrew claim to Palestine is based not only on residence in Biblical times but on the fact that there has always been a Jewish settlement in Palestine since then. Furthermore, Jewish colonization has not and would not deprive Arabs of their land or oust them from the country. With the advent of the Zionists, the Arab standard of living has risen, and the Arab population has almost doubled due to immigration from other Arab countries and to a declining death rate as a result of Jewish medical services.

The troubles between the Jews and Arabs are to a great degree due to a weak and inefficient. British civil administration. Because of these troubles, Zionism, the most progressive force in the Near East, is being subjected to a new Munich to which Chamberlain and the Arab feudal leaders, supported by Italy and Germany, are parties. This is not a necessary or feasible solution. Instead, let the British continue the Mandate, improve their administration, grant government aid to Arab education and health services and strengthen the hand of Arab moderates. Thus they may create a friendly atmosphere in which an expanding Jewish National Home can exist fruitfully and peacefully with a modern intelligent Arab people. Irving M. London '39,

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