Arab League Pamphlet
Commentary and Translation by Prof. Ilan Pappé
Before 15 May 1948, the Arab League distributed in Hebrew and Arabic the following message to the Jewish community in Palestine (ironically, not knowing enough of the nature of Zionism it was also distributed in German!).
The Israeli narrative depicted the Arab governments as seeking to inflict a second holocaust on the Jewish people. This pamphlet tells a different story that tallies with the research that exposed secret efforts by Arab leaders to try and convince the UN and even Zionist leaders to continue negotiating over the future of Palestine and not impose a solution on the Palestinians.
AN ANNOUCMENT
In these hard times, in which the Arab and Jews in Palestine are in a state of conflict, we found it necessary to approach with this statement to the Jews who live in Palestine under the pressure of terrorist gangs that act with force. We would like to clarify the facts which are intentionally hidden from them and maybe this will help to prevent further bloodshed of the innocent.
The Arab states have no intention to go to war. No expansionist plans and no wish to hurt Jewish life or property in Palestine. They also do not want to assist the tyranny of one group over the others. There is no wish to impose a solution by force. But everyone knows about the atrocities committed by the Jewish forces and the humiliation inflicted on women and children who did not take part in the fighting. The world has learned about the political greediness that contradict Justice, common sense, and the essential interests of the Palestinians and the nearby neighbouring states. This greediness constitutes a danger to their national existence.
Millions of Jews live in the Arab world. They enjoy all the privileges and rights that they can receive in any other civilized country. Despite the atrocities committed by the Zionists, the Arab governments declare their intention to protect their Jewish citizens and encourage their people to protect the rights of the Jewish citizens. At the same time, they demand form the Jewish citizens to avoid any contact with the Zionists, and therefore will avoid been penalized by the laws passed by their governments.
Palestine needs to remain complete, undivided for all its inhabitants. All of them should live in harmony under one regime that would guarantee to everyone without discrimination – the right for existence, religious faith, and security.
We address this call to groups within the Jewish community, so that they will help to bring back security, ensure their future and overcome the actions of the fanatics. And also, that they will disseminate the recognition in one unitary state under one constitution based on the principle of democracy, accepted all over the world. So that [the Zionists] will not continue proceeding on the road of greediness and aggressiveness whose inevitable consequence would be more bloodshed and destruction. The Arab states stress that they are entering Palestine only to secure peace and security, since the absence of peace and security threatens the very existence of the neighbouring Arab states. When this goal is achieved, the Arab states will withdraw back to their territories and will not interfere in the legal and scared right of the people of Palestine to determine themselves their regime to be elected according the principles accepted by the world.