A series where I use history to debunk common misconceptions about the Middle East conflict.
The March 19, 1947 edition of the New York Times contains a report by Clifton Daniel (who would later be the paper’s managing editor, and who was married to Margaret Truman, daughter of former US President Harry Truman). In it, Daniel interviews Arabs in then Palestine about the idea of living with Jews in the land. Needless to say, they are not happy about it.
But besides their opposition to admitting more Jews on humanitarian grounds, note:
- Yet another mention of how the Jews had legally bought Arab land – something that has come up in previous reports from the time, which I have posted on the blog
- Mention of Kfar Yasif, where Spanish Jews had lived after fleeing the Spanish Inquisition (1492), before being displaced by the Arabs around 200 years later
- Widespread interest in a “Greater Syria” plan, whereby the Arabs of Palestine, Syria and Jordan would form one state (because the Arabs in Palestine did not consider themselves as having a distinct identity as they claim to in more recent times)
Note: I cannot provide a link to the full article since it is only available to those who have purchased a NY Times subscription. But I have provided screenshots below. As usual, click on the screenshots to enlarge.
