4 AUGUST 1961, Page 15

THE OTHER EXODUS

SK—Reading through the correspondence (under this heading) since returning from the Continent, 1 have. been asking myself what precisely it is that We have been. arguing about. Surely, it was not originated as a propaganda game, or a naive effort to influence Western opinion? It seems to me that the greatest service one can render the new genera- tion of refugees is to show them clearly why their Parents left Palestine, or why others fled from their homes. I do not think any useful purpose is served by chasing will-o'-the-wisps, as Khalidi does with his largely non-existent records of broadcasts or his Wholly imaginary version of 'Plan Dalet,' or when Mr. Atiyak gets his sequence of British departures so confused that it is quite impossible to follow him. These are unimportant. What matters is what Sir John Glubb said: what is to happen to the refugees? What is now going to be done for them?