Know Your History: The ‘Palestinian Refugees’ (NY Times May 19, 1957)

series where I bring to you news from the archives and historical documents to debunk common misconceptions about the Middle East conflict.

On May 19, 1957, James A Pike, a self-confessed non-Zionist, wrote a piece in the New York Times describing the palestinian refugee issue and possible solutions. It is a revealing and important read, given it acknowledges the situation is not as the haters claim (that Israel expelled the palestinian Arabs).

Note in particular:

  • The quoted number of refugees – way less than UNRWA’s number of 5 million that is based on a definition including descendants
  • The reasons for the Arabs fleeing Israel – including threats by their fellow Arabs, and hopes they could return after Israel was vanquished
  • Those who were scared of Israel based it on the actions of Jewish fighters not acting in an official capacity, who acted partly due to fear of a fifth column
  • The Arabs who stayed in Israel fared well
  • Arab opposition to resettlement of the refugees and the use of the refugees as political pawns
  • An acknowledgement that Israel could not take in the refugees, given our size and the fact they would be a fifth column
  • The instability refugees caused Jordan
  • Israel’s efforts in resettling 400,00 Jews from Arab lands

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.

Click on the images to enlarge.

2 thoughts on “Know Your History: The ‘Palestinian Refugees’ (NY Times May 19, 1957)”

  1. The New York Slimes would never publish such an article today. It would be considered ‘Islamophobic’ to use such basic facts.

  2. good article, although seems to have been responsible for a minor error. says he was a strong advocate for Israel

    http://www.romirowsky.com/7948/a-tale-of-two-galloways

    The other ‘Ralph Galloway’ citation from 1957 was perhaps most
    influential, a multi-page article by the Reverend James A. Pike in the
    Sunday 19 May 1957 New York Times Magazine entitled ‘Key Pieces in the
    Middle East Puzzle’.[67]

    Pike was an important and unusual figure who had also been connected
    with Nation Associates. A noted Episcopal minister and television
    personality, Pike was an early advocate for civil rights, birth control,
    participation of women and homosexuals in the church, and a strong
    advocate for Israel. But in the mid-1960s his heterodox views brought
    repeated trials for heresy and then censure by his church. After the
    suicide of his son he turned to clairvoyance. Pike himself died in
    Israel while endeavoring to contact his dead son.[68]

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