Sir: So General Sir Horatius Murray believes that the Arabs
in 1948 had " no organization, practically no equipment, and no training at all." Leaving aside the gross insult to Glubb Pasha and other British officers of the Arab Legion, who were supposed to be organizing and training that army which entered Palestine before May 15, it must be remembered that the country was open for Arab irregulars as well as the Legion to cross before that date.
The Jews on the other hand faced an effective blockade by the British navy, and they only had smuggled small arms, and such mortars and grenades as they could manufacture themselves.
There were only 650,000 Jews in the country at the time, the Arab population was over twice that size, and were being completely supported by the surrounding Arab states; in fact their numbers thus ran into many millions. Immediately after May 15 the armies of these states ' poured in, and could hardly be regarded as " enthusiastic amateurs:' It should be noted in all the
years in which Jewish civilians have come under fire they did not run away but dug in, yet when the same thing happens to Arab civilians they immediately flee the country.
The vulgar jibe about the Arabs
being offered second class citizenship cannot be used to cover up the fact that whereas the Jews were willing to accept the UN partition plan the Arabs overthrew it. by force. It has been pointed ont many times that Arabs have equality with Jews in Israel and places in the government, and cannot be used as cheap labour, as the Histadrut exercises strict control over wages, which ensures that "Arabs and Jews get the same wages. F, Allen
29 Grangeway Gardens, Redbridge, Essex
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