Sir: Allow me please, rather late, to answer the ietter
of David M. Jacobs (March 11) about Palestinians. The best way to do it is to quote the recent report (in Ha'aretz of March 15) about the symposium held in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem about the political life of Palestinians. Contrary to everything that David M. Jacobs says the speakers in this symposium (who are the greatest official Israeli authorities about the Palestinian problem, Dr J. Harkabi and Dr J. Cohen) recognised that Palestinian political consciousness and political organisation date from before the First World War and were already very powerful immediately after the Balfour Declaration, in 1920-21.
So much for David M. Jacobs' thesis that "Palestinian " consciousness dates from refugee camps.... The same goes about his contention that Arabs are not discriminated in Israel. Sufficient it will be to cite Mr U. Shtendel, lately a high official in the office for Arab affairs attached to Golda
Melt's ministry, who complained in the above symposium that the ruling Israel Labour party (and other parties too) do not accept Arabs as members. This is an official, definite rule, and apart from South Africa I don't know of any powerful party in any country which is so officially and openly racialist.
For comparison I would like to imagine how loud will David M.
Jacobs scream about discrimination, anti-semitism and God knows what, if both the Conservative and Labour parties in this country had a standing official rule not to accept any Jews as members, . .
Israel Amos
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