Vics INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS ha s\\t i fi el ee RIA By JOSEPH GERSHMAN Soviet plan in UN guarantee of independen T HAS NOW been confirmed, and coming events will I confirm it further, that the government of Israel com- mitted a grave error in voiding the historic November 29, 1947, decision on Palestine. Nothing could be more harmful to Israel than Premier Ben-Gurion’s statement that “the decision of November 4947 is now, void,” even if he meant to limit this remark only, to the issue of Jerusalem. For what he has said is that his government will not support the original decision to establish, in the non-Jewish portion of Palestine, an independent, self- governing Arab state. ; The treatment of the Jerusalem issue aS separate, dissociated from the issue of Palestine as 4 whole, helps only the enemies of Israel. We must always bear in mind that Britain, the U:S., and their satellites, have from the outset opposed an independent Jewish state and an independent Arab state. Immediately after the 1947 UN decision, they tried to nullify its effects. But they were frustrated by those who had fought for the passage of the original UN motion. — The base for the fight conducted in favor of Israel by the USSR and the people’s democracies was that decision, and the demand for its implementation. This was the chief mora] weapon raised in Israel's behalf. (not forget- ting, of course, the other kind of aid that these friendly countries gave Israel when she was invaded.) So when the Premier of Israel tells the entire world ‘that this all-important decision is void, he is in effect doing what the enemies of Israel have been trying to do for two years. He is undermining the moral pasis and weakening the political grounds upon which Israel bases its just claims. and which make possible 2 democratic ~ solution of the whole Palestinian problem. In effect, he is exposing Israel to the danger of complete domination by Britain, which, when it gave up the mandate over Palestine re-entered the country through Abdullah of Transjordan, and of the U.S., whose interference in Is- raeli affairs has become dangerous in the extreme. The attempt to void the November decision, by boast- ing that Israel is where she is today solely by her own powers, is harmfu! and illusory because it is untrue. Cer- tainly Israel did defend herself with sweat, blood and courage, and through the sacrifice of thousands of lives, against the American-British inspired Arab invasion. But while the U.S. and Britain assisted the aggressors, the USSR and the people’s democracies came to the aid of Israel, materially and in the UN, factors that helped Israel immeasurably in her victory. ' The position that the USSR has taken on Jerusalem is not antagonistic to Israel, but is indeed in the very best interests of that country. The poison-pill secribblers in the reactionary Jewish and non-Jewish press would have us believe that the USSR “line” on Palestine has been changed. True to their two-faced methods, they are careful not to com- ment on what the Soviet representative Semyon Tsarap- kin actually said, Even more faithfully, they conceal the differences in the “internationalization of Jerusalem plan brought forth by the so-called Conciliation Commis sion, the one which Australia submitted and the USSR amended, and the Sweden-Holland plan. The plan of the Conciliation Commission (consisting of the U.S., France and Turkey) proposed the legalization of Abdullah’s occupation army (led by the British Glubb- Pasha) in old Jerusalem, and the control of both the old and new Jerusalem by a western (American-British) governor. 1B contained no guarantee of democratic rights | either to Jewish or Arab residents. The plan was, in fact, a continuation of the familiar intrigues which the west- ern powers have been hatching. against Israel. from the start. The Commission itself is an American-controlled in- strument, and even the Israeli representatives have de- clared on occasion that this Commission ought to be abolished because it is blocking peace negotiations be- a tween Israel and the Arab states. It is worth remember- 1949 years after - PAMPHLET. ‘1 Zulu and English, Africa Ready for Christ, has been banned by the Malan government of South Africa on the grounds it will arouse “enmity between Europeans and Na- tives in the Union.» ce of Israel ing, therefore, that the U.S., Britain and Canada strongly favored the Jerusalem scheme proposed by this Commis- sion, ; The Sweden-Holland plan was really much the same as the Commission pian. Both would have vested the JN governor with full powers to rule the city and with U the right to create and nullify laws as he pleased.. N either afforded the inhabitants any protection or guar- antee of their democratic rights. The original Australian motion proposed that Jeru- salem should be internationalized in the spirit of the November decision, but it did not provide that the city should be supervised by a truly representative UN regime. The Soviet delegate therefore submitted the follow- ing amendments to the Australian motion: Jerusalem should be governed by a regime appointed by the UN trusteeship council; the people of Jerusalem should be constitutionally guaranteed their democratic rights; and the Conciliation Commission should be dis- solved. The assembly agreed to the first two Soviet proposals, but turned down the last one, which was of fundamental importance. — , No matter how much the slanderers try to conceal it, the truth will out. Semyon Tsarapkin stated the position of the USSR very clearly when he explained the Soviet amendments to the Australian motion. (This is the same Tsarapkin whose speeches in the critical days of Israel’s war even the professional anti-Sovieteers had to grudgingly ac- knowledge). : ‘He explained that the USSR, which had so earnestly fought for, the November 1947 decision without which Israe] could not have been established, wants that deci- sion implemented. The U.S. and Britain and their satel- lites, he stated, have endeavored always to undo its ef- fect, As recently as 1948, the U.S. was demanding that all of Israel should be administered under international regime! © But, he went ahead to explain, implementation of the 1947 decision is essential to prevent the legalization of the occupation of old Jerusalem and the Arab section _of Palestine by Abdullah. Implementation of the 1947 decision means the estab- lishment in Arab Palestine of an independent Arab state. If, however, Abdullah remains in old Jerusalem and Arab Palestine, and if, together with this, anti-Israel conspir- acies should be continued, then Israel’s security and in- dependence will be in constant danger, subject to the will of the imperialists. iF For this reason, the USSR strongly favored the abol- ition of the Concilation Commission. No Jew can afford to forget that Israel was created as the result of an anti-imperialist struggle both in the political arena and on the battlefield. If the anti-imperial- ist character is abandoned, and a pro-imperialist orienta- tion is adopted, as the Ben-Gurion government is doing, the result as far as Israel is concerned can only amount to a great misfortune. Let every Jew ask himself this question: why has the USSR been prevented from having a representative on any of the [UN commissions vis-a-vis Israel? It is not because Truman, Bevin and St, Laurent are afraid that Tsarapkin will “betray” Israel, It is because they know that whichever commission has a Soviet representative on it is sure to oppose their treacheries against the Jew-_ ish state. American’s sudden fake opposition ‘to the in- ternationalization of Jerusalem is due only to the fact that Tsarapkin himself is a member of the trusteeship council, a fact which is itself a guarantee that neither the dollar diplomats of Washington nor the Bevinites of England will be able to rob Israel of its hard-won inde- pendence. i Truly, who is the friend of Israel? Is it Acheson and the U.S; state department, which sabotaged the 1947 UN decision and which placed an embargo on arms to Israel at a time when young Israelis were dying for lack of food and arms? Or is it the USSR which fights for the implementation of the UN, -and Romania and Czecho- slovakia which supplied the ammunition Israeli fighters needed to beat the invaders? Is Bevin, who armed the invaders and whose General Glubb-Pasha is the leader of Abdullah’s army, the friend of Israel? Qryis: it the’ USSR, which wants to liberate Israel] and all Palestine once and forever from the heel of all imperialism? The anti-Soviet press, which is so anxious to persuade people that the USSR has become anti-Israel, advances the changes that have transpired since November, 1947, as grounds for voiding the 1947 decision. It becomes _ therefore necessary to take a look at these changes, 48 TORONTO CIVIC ELECTIONS Pace set by labor candidates TORONTO ‘ORONTO'S civic election campaign is in its final . week with the labor candidates as usual setting the pace by putting the real issues before the electors. Voting will take place Monday, January 2 and results will be known by about 7 p.m. (Vancouver time) that night. Stewart. Smith is again fighting for labor’s Board of Control seat and this year his support is growing by leaps and bounds in the last days of the campaign—and other _ candidates -are steadily losing ground. In Ward 5 Alderman Charles Sims’ supporters have pledged to again head the poll with a ten percent in- crease over last year. Aim in Ward 5 is 10,000 votes. Alderman Sims won close to 9,000 last year. In Ward 4, Alderman Norman Freed is facing stiff opposition, but campaign manager Bill Kashtan and his co-workers are confident the popular alderman can head the poll for his seventh term. In Ward 6, Dewar Ferguson, former alderman, is back in the race and at last reports was gaining consider- able support in the largest ward in the city. Former Alderman May Birchard is contesting Ward 2 and there are two CCF candidates in Ward 8. In the school board campaign, Sam Walsh was given ‘an acclamation in Ward 4. Trustee Edna Ryerson is expected to head the poll by a wide margin in Ward 5 if campaigning continues at its present pace. Stan Thorn- ley, president of Gutta Percha Rubber local union, is labor’s candidate for board of education in Ward 6. In Ward 2 in the downtown .area, Louise Watson is con- ceded an excellent chance of election. Two referendums are before the voters. The one now taking up all the space in the daily newspapers, evok- ing a campaign of religious prejudices in the city, is the vote on the question of Sunday sports in Toronto. The vote will/have no legal status since such matters are not within the jurisdiction of civic government. The second referendum will, for the seventh time, - ask the voters if they want to change voting day to the first Ménday in December. ‘This has been defeated every time out. While Sunday sports occupies most space in the press, the real issues in the campaign center around the re-assess- ment swindle in Toronto which loaded a terrific increase sn taxes on small homes and pushed thousands out of the partial exemption category. ~ Stewart Smith and other la- bor candidates are “ghting to save and extend these partial exemptions to cover homes assessed up to $5,600. Second major issue is the so-called “‘master plan’’ to cost the city $179,000,000 over the next 30 years. This plan\was railroaded through city council at its final meet- ing of the year, without discussion. it a “master muddle”. It makes no provision for schools, homes, parks or other social measures. : they affect the boundaries of Israel, and as they pertain to political developments. The great accomplishments of the Israel army in various parts of the jand confirm that these places hon- estly and unquestionably belong to Israel. This is some- thing the imperialists refuse to concede and the U.S. is still trying to wrest the Negev from Israel. Obviously, therefore, Israel can only maintain its present boundaries if she protects herself against the imperialist intrigues that the U.S. and Britain are now weaving around Jeru- salem. Who brought the Jerusalem question to the UN? Britain and the U.S. Why? So as to have enacted the dangerous Conciliation Commission plan. That being so, » it is actually a victory for Israel that the Soviet Union amendments were adopted, for this resulted in a breach © in the imperialist bloc, and the plan of the American- dominated Conciliation Commission was repudiated. As for the anti-Israel policies of Britain and the US., \ they remain unchanged. The conquest of Israel is still in the forefront of their schemings. The Jewish servants of imperialism are knowingly false when they tell Jews | that Bevin’ has changed, and that the US .1s Israel's dearest friend. The real friends of Israel are those sin-" cere and’ persistent fighters for the implementation of the November 1947 decision as the one means for a just séttlement of all Palestine’s problems. - By all logic, the government of Israel should be- among these who would insist on that decision being implemented. Certainly it would be in the interests of Israel to have at least one friendly, democratic peighbor- ing Arab state. Such a state could be created by the UN, and it would be infinitely more friendly to Israel than is Abdullah, who represents that very imperialism from which the people of Israel so recently freed themselves. — For such a state to be created, a foreign policy for Is- rael completely opposite to that pursued by. the Ben- Gurion government would be necessary. is PACIFIC _TRIBUNE—DECEMBER 30, 1919—PAGE 7 > bh Stewart Smith terms