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Salient. Victoria University Student Newspaper. Vol. 38, No. 18. July 23rd 1975

Palestinian Scholar Speaks: A history of oppression

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Palestinian Scholar Speaks: A history of oppression

Sami Hadawi is a Palestinian scholar with an extensive personal involvement in Palestinian affairs stretching over five decades. He toured Sew Zealand fast month and while he was in Wellington Bruce Robinson interviewed him for Salient Next week Salient will be printing another side of the Palestinian debate in an article on Jewish refugees.

Salient: What do you hope to achieve by your visit to New Zealand?

Hadawi: I hope to acquaint New Zealanders with the other side of the story about the Palestine question and I hope to enlist their support and interest in the United Nations resolution on Palestine which is the basis of a peaceful settlement of the problem.

Salient: There have been quite a number of developments at the United Nations regarding Palestine recently. Could you describe these developments and do you think that they represent a growing recognition of the just struggle of the Palestinian people?

Hadawi: The United Nations has dealt with the problem on two aspects; the Arab states/Israeli conflict and the Palestine question which is entirely separate. The Israelis try to confuse the issue by making it one Arab/Israeli conflict but it is not so.

The Arab state/Israeli conflict is one which affects territory - that is the territory that is occupied by Israel.

The second part of the conflict deals with the Palestinians. The United Nations is quite explicit on this point. It adopted a resolution on November 25, 1974, only a few months ago and I would like to read it out to you because it is very significant to get the exact words. It says:

"The General Assembly recognising that the Palestinian people is entitled to self-determination in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations: expresses its concern that the Palestinian people has been prevented from enjoying its inalienable rights, in particular Its rights of self-determination: guided by the purposes and principles of the Charter require these relevant resolutions which affirm the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination.

"1. Reaffirms the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people in Palestine including (a) the right to self-determination without external interference: (b) the right to national independence and sovereignty; 2. Reaffirms also the inalienable right of the Palestinians to return to their homes and property from which they have been displaced and uprooted and calls for their return." The resolution continues to recognise the right of the Palestinian people to regain its rights "by all means in accordance with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. "And the last paragraph appeals to all the states (and I believe this would include New Zealand) and all international organisations "to extend their support to the Palestinian people in its struggle". (You can well understand what struggle means) "to restore its rights in accordance with the Charter."

The Palestinians have a right to go back to their homes. They have a right to self-determination, sovereignty and independence. They have a right to fight to regain these rights. And other nations are being called to help the Palestinians in their struggle to restore these rights.

The Arabs have declared their willingness to negotiate a peace settlement on the basis of this resolution. The Israeli response has been - 'We refuse to recognise the existence of the Palestinians. We reject all resolutions of the United Nations including this latest resolution and we will only negotiate with the Arab States on the basis of secure boundaries.' In other words they want not only Palestine but bits of the Arab territories and liquidation of the Palestinian problem.

Photograph of tents in a refugee camp

Under these circumstances what hopes are there for peace in the area? In my view none whatsoever.

Salient: How did Zionism originate and why is it important to separate Zionism from Judaism?

Hadawi: Zionism began with Theodor Herzl, an Austrian Jew, who felt that the only way to get away from racial discrimination and persecution was to have a Jewish state. He wrote a book in 1897 called The Jewish State' but he never stated where that state should be. When the British offered Uganda he was prepared to accept it. He was also prepared to accept Argentina, if possible. However the other Zionists working with him thought that the best territory to have their eyes on was Palestine because of its religious significance. The 1904 Zionist Congress overruled Herzl and decided that Palestine should form the focus of attention

Before Herzl and political Zionism, there had been Spiritual Zionism. Spiritual Zionism wanted for religious Jews who wanted to to be able to go to Palestine and settle there - these settlers to live like other people of the country without special privileges or rights.

Later on there were clashes between political and spiritual Zionism. In the course of time political Zionism took over.

At first the Zionists said they wanted a state which was large enough to take all the Jews. In 1919 they defined this territory to include all Palestine, much of Jordan, part of Lebanon, including the whole waters of the area and part of the Sinai up to the Mediterranean.

But the events of the last fifty years or so demonstrate that the limits of their state are limitless depending on how far they can go into the Arab world.

Now the difference between Judaism and Zionism is very simple and very clear. Judaism is a religion of universal values. On it is based Christianity and Islam so we have no quarrel with it whatsoever.

Zionism is a political movement which is bent on establishing a Jewish state in Palestine and beyond at the expense of the people of the country.

The laws that have been enacted by Israel, namely the Status Law and the Law of Return, give every Jew around the world the right to 'return' to Palestine and to automatically become citizens of the country. Whereas those who were born in the country and remained have got to become naturalised and learn Hebrew. Those who are now outside the country or have been expelled or dispossessed like myself cannot go back under any circumstances whatsoever.

The Nazis discriminated against the Jews on religious grounds and today it is the Zionists who are also discriminating on religious grounds. In the 20th century you do not decide the rights of people by their religion. You decide them by their rights of being born and living in the country and owning the homes and lands that exist in that country.

Here is where the difference lies between the Zionists and ourselves. The Zionists claim Palestine on the basis of religion. We claim Palestine on the basis of being the inhabitants of the country.

Salient: The period of the British mandate saw a rapid increase in Jewish immigration. How did the British mandate come about and what were its consequences?

Hadawi: The First World War was won in the East with the help of the Arabs. The British promised the Arabs independence if they assisted them in ousting the Turks from the area, which they did under King Sherif Hussein.

They had been promised independence but the colonial powers secretly decided to divide the Arab world amongst them. France took Syria and Lebanon. The British took Palestine, Trans-Jordan and Iraq. They divided it amongst themselves and gave it the names of Lebanon, Syria, Trans-Jordan and Palestine That was the beginning of the whole thing.

In the meantime the British, through the Balfour declaration, had promised to allow the Jews a Jewish national home in the area. The promises made to the Arabs were not carried out but the promise made to the Zionists under the mandate.

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Portrait photo of Sami Hadawi

In order to get the Arabs to agree to the Mandate the Mandate provided that they [the British and French] would assist these countries until such time as they were able to run their affairs by themselves.. But it was a colonial relationship.

In Palestine the Mandate assisted the Jews to take over gradually. When the British entered Palestine in 1918, the number of Jews there was 56,000 as against 700,000 Arabs. During the period of the Mandate the Jewish community rose through immigration to 600,000 in 1948 which was one third of the population of Palestine.

Salient: About the Palestinians during this time. There were a number of uprisings during the Mandate, in particular the one from 1936 to 1939. Could you tell me something about the struggles by the Palestinians that were going on?

Hadawi: As soon as the Palestinians heard of the Balfour declaration, there was an uprising in Palestine. I remember that as a kid. 1920 was the first uprising and it was a bloody one between Arabs and Jews in which a number of innocent people were killed on both sides. 1923 was another uprising and 1929 was a major one. Many people lost their lives at that time.

In 1935 following Hitler's rise to power the number of immigrants increased considerably to the extent that we felt that we would be overwhelmed by a Jewish majority in no time. Therefore the uprising began.

It broke out as a strike which closed everything down for six months, transport, shops, practically everything was stopped. After that the rebellion started It was a fully fledged rebellion to get rid of British power. The fighting was really terrific. The British Army developed a lot of respect for the Arab rebels as a result.

The second world war arrived and the Arabs put down their arms and decided to assist the British as much as they could during the War period.

In the meantime the British had put out a white paper in 1939 which said that the Jewish national home was already established and that Britain therefore had no more responsibility in this regard. It also provided that the state of Palestine was to be established within 5 years, that immigration would cease and Arab lands would no longer be sold to the Jews. At the time the British White Paper would have been a sensible thing to carry out.

After the Second World War the British were much weaker and the United States much stronger. The Zionists had transferred their headquarters from England to the United States and with the power of the United States behind them started demanding a state.

The British started to be pressured by the United States while in Palestine the wave of Zionist terrorism was gaining the upper hand. Finally the British said, we are fed up and we want to get out'. At this stage they completely neglected their responsibilities towards the rest of the population.

Salient: Can you tell me about the formation of the Zionist state?

Hadawi: After the British left the responsibility for Palestine was given to the United Nations. The United Nations partitioned the country into two states. An Arab state and a Jewish State. The territory assigned to the Jewish state was 56% and the territory assigned to the Arab state was only 44%.

The population of the Jewish state was to be 50% Arab and 50% Jewish and notwithstanding this, the Jews were supposed to take over sole rule of the country.

The amount off land that the Jews owned in the area of the proposed Jewish state was, I think, only 9.38% of the total.

The partition resolution provided for guarantees for the Arabs in their homes and in their properties and in their civil rights and provided that the Constitution of the Jewish state was to guarantee these rights. But Israel never wrote out a constitution because it would have had to define the boundaries of the state. When the partition plan was passed they had accepted the principle of the Jewish state but not the boundaries.

So that immediately the resolution was adopted they started attacking Arab territories and throwing out the population. I, for example, lived in Jerusalem zone which was supposed to be under United Nations jurisdiction. I was thrown out 16 days before the Jewish state was supposed to come into existence (29th April). Certain cities were occupied even before then.

Salient: What happened to the terrorists who were active at this time?

Hadawi: They eventually formed the basis of the Israeli Army.

The terrorists from 1939 to 1948 were known as the Hagana, the Irgun Zvei Leumi and the Stern gangsters. Menachem Beigin who was the head of the Irgun Zvei Leumi and responsible for the major part of the murders and massacres and destruction is now head of the Opposition party.

As soon as Israel was formed the Hagana, the Irgun Zvei Leumi and the Stern gangsters formed the Israeli Army. The Israeli state came into being as a result of the terrorism and it is being maintained today as a result of terrorism.

Salient: The Israelis have always maintained that their state expands soley as a result of defensive wars. What evidence is there for Israeli expansionism?

Hadawi: When the Jewish state came into existence on the 14th. May, Ben Gurion said "the Jewish state has been established in only a part of the land of Israel.' which indicates that they had other designs.

In 1949, after the Armistice agreements were signed giving Israel a territory larger than had been assigned to the Jewish state, Menachem Beigin, who was the hero of the Deir Yassin massacre and many other massacres in Palestine, said "now we must prepare for the second round."

In 1956 when Ben Gurion occupied Sinai and the Straits of Tiran and said "we did not occupy Egypt proper. All that we did was to take over what belongs to us!" But conditions were such in the world at that time that they were forced out.

In 1967 they felt that world conditions were right and the war of 1967 took place in which they occupied the Golan Heights, the Sinai and the West Bank of the Jordan. They had expanded to what they wanted.

In 1968 Moshe Dayan stood on the Golan Heights and said "our fathers reached the frontiers which were recognised in the Partition plan, our generation reached the frontiers of 1949; now the six-day-war generation has reached Suez, Jordan and the Golan Heights." And then he said "This is not the end. After the present cease-fire lines, there will be new ones. They will extend beyond Jordan - perhaps to Lebanon and perhaps to Central Syria as well."

A statement like that indicates that Zionism has no intention of stopping until they reach the boundaries that were established in their first designs on the Middle East - from the Nile to the Euphrates.

Salient: What is life like for the Arabs in particular in the current state of Israel and what has been the plight of the occupied territories since the 1967 war?

Hadawi: The Arabs that remained in Israel after [unclear: 1948] were under military rule for at least 20 years. They could not leave their villages without a pass and could not visit their lands even to plough them unless they had military authority. Although many of these villages were not anywhere near the border 'security purposes' was the excuse they used.

There were at that time about 170,000 of them. These people were considered (and had an Identity Card indicating this with a special sign) second class citizens. But since then more and more oriental jews have come into the country and today the oriental jews are the second class citizens and the Arabs have dropped to third class citizens.

Although the Oriental Jews represent nearly 56% of the population the power is in the hands of the European Jews. I mean, it's a situation exactly as exists today in South Africa where the minority are in control of the government.

As for the occupied territories, the United Nations has condemned Israel more than once for violations of the Human Rights of these people. There are about 17,000 Arab prisoners many of them not even tried, there is deportation and there is destruction of property. More than 7,000 homes have been blown up. Lands have been confiscated and not paid for. People are only used in employment where it benefits Israel in the form of Labourers. Nearly every day you hear of Intellectuals sent out of the country and not allowed to return.

All this is contrary to the provisions of the Geneva Convention which Israel has accepted and signed They are against the Universal Declaration of Human Rights which Israel has accepted and signed. The United Nations has sent more than one Commission out to investigate and the resolutions of the United Nations are so strong that only if they were to become better known to the world it would be something surprising.

Salient: What has been the role of the United States in the Middle East?

Hadawi: The role of the United States has been an extremely disappointing one. It has pressured and coerced other nations into a vote for the partition of Palestine. It has used economic aid as a club over the head of all small nations to support the US policy in the area. During the last 27 years it has made no effort to obtain a settlement based on peace and justice. Instead it has been following a policy which is detrimental to the Palestinian Arabs and has encouraged the Israelis in their role of expansionism in the area.

Salient: A document published in 1970 by the Soviet Union says that they 'have never opposed the existence of the state of Israel' yet at the same time the Soviet Union supplies arms and aid to many Arab countries and to the PLO itself. What do you see as the role of the Soviet Union in the area?

Hadawi: The Soviet Union, right from the beginning of this case, has been soley concerned with its own interests in the area. The Arabs have purchased arms from the Soviet Union. They have not got them free as the Israelis get them from the United States. The first time the Arabs bought arms from the Soviet Union was in 1955 after five attacks by the Israelis on Egyptian territory and after they had been refused the sale of arms by the United States, England and France. At first it was a barter agreement where they got Egyptian cotton in return for the arms. Now that Saudi Arabia is footing the bill for arms they're getting their money on the spot. This has worked in the Soviet's interest. They have been able to penetrate the Mediterranean and now the Indian Ocean.

Salient: Finally, how can peace be brought to the Middle East?

Hadawi: This can only be accomplished by the return of the Palestinians rights to their homes and properties. The Jews should be made to recognise these rights.

Once that is accomplished, the second step is to try and remove the hatred and bitterness that exists between the two peoples and once that step is accomplished or at least accepted in principle then to sit together as human beings and to work out a solution whereby Moslem, Christian and Jew would be able to live in a country not on the basis of power politics, not on the basis of taking the rights of of her people or territory but on the basis of human rights.

Photograph of Palestinian refugees