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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 17, 1966)
At Free Speech Platform Arab, Israeli Students Debate Palestine Dispute By JAQI THOMPSON Emerald Stall Writer The Arab, blame the Israelis, •he Israelis Maine the Arabs, and they both blarno the United Na lions for the bitter, unsolved dis pute over Palestine. Arab, Israeli, and other Univer sity students argued the question in conjunction with "Palestine Day," sponsored by the Arab Stu dents, at noon Monday at the Free Speech Platform, The main speaker was Mike Quadumi, a senior in architecture, who also kept peace and order when strong feelings threatened to erupt into strong action The dispute centered on the 1948 resolution of the UN to split Palestine into two countries one for the Israelis and the other foi the Arabs, Unfair Decision The Arabs did not feel at the time the UN’s decision was fair, nor that the UN had any right to divide what they felt was their land Accordingly, the Arabs went to war. The Israelis won the war and, as a result the Arabs ended up with less land than the 1948 decision would have given them, and were forced to move out of the country. Today, from 800,000 to 1.250,000 Arab refugees are living in condi tions Quadumi described as equiv alent to a "concentration camp." They are living in Jordon, Leba non, Syria, and in the <la/.a Strip around the borders of Israel, hop ing to return to this land they feel is theirs Palestine had been the Arabs' homeland from 600 j A D until 1048, said Quadumi Dividing Ihe land is not a ques tion of lac s and reason, he con I uiued "Tiie feelings of the one and a quarter million Arab people who feel this land is theirs have to be taken into consideration,” be said It is because the Israelis feel the same way about the same land that there is such a serious need for an agreement, both sides agreed. Resolutions Passed Today the Arabs want to accept the UN's repartitioning plan of 1948, but say they can see no indication of agreement on the part of Israel. “The UN’ has passed resolutions every year implement ing the 1948 resolution, and the Arabs have accepted this. We want to go back to our home. We are waiting for the green light from the Israelis," said Quadumi. An Israeli in the audience, who challenged nearly every statement by the Arab students, replied the UN has not passed such resolu tions every year. He added Israel has been willing all along to sit dewn and solve the refugee prob lem. The Israeli expressed his doubts, however, that the prob lem could ever be solved as long as the UN remained as mediator, lie felt the UN had “failed as an international forum. . . . The UN failed to carry out a resolution satisfactory to both factions. . . . Supposing the UN solution is really the right one, it still won’t be solved as long as there is a gap between the Arabs and the Israelis.” Neil Muhtadi answered, “How can we sit down when you have no intention of compromise?” Negotiate Without UN In order to close this gap, which has always existed, the Arabs and Israelis must sit down together and talk without the UN as a third party, he believes. The Israeli also questioned, if the situation had been reversed, it the Arabs would have agreed in 1948 to share one-half their land as the Israelis agreed to. Quadumi replied he was not concerned with a hypothesis, but wnth the concrete problem as it exists. Others accused the Arabs of wanting to take over the land the Israelis had tilled and cared for. Quadumi admitted the Israelis have taken care of the land, but added that that is not the reason the Arabs wanted to return to the land. The real reason, he main tained, is emotional. In another attack on the Arabs, the Israeli asked why the Arab government was spending so much money on defense and not doing anything to improve the living conditions of the Arab refugees. Defense Expenditures Quadumi agreed that it was per haps morally wrong, but that it was a practical fact that the government was forced to spend a large amount for defense pur poses. The Arabs are “continually in a state of war, and it is a matter of fact we have to be pre pared for," he said. “It may be senseless, but it is essential,” he concluded. He criticized the U.S. for cut ting its aid to the Arab refugees. In 1982 the U.S. spent close to $25 million on foodstuffs to give the refugees 1,500 total calories per day. The U.S. has cut that amount to $22 million today, hop ing that other nations will share in the costs. The Arabs feel the U.S. is the main nation responsible for the 1948 injustice, and thus owes them aid. Quadumi said it is analogous to the situation of the U.S. and the American Indian. The U.S. has provided for the American Indians because it real izes it has wronged them. The U.S. gave aid to the Arabs for the same reason, he said, be cause the nation’s conscience de manded it. Want to really get results?— Use Emerald Classified Ads— Phone 342-1411, Ext. 1818. This Arrow sport shirt meets all your standards. Except one. (1) 100% cotton. (2) Softly flared button-down collar. (3) 11" sleeve. (4) Back collar button. (5) Box pleat. (6) Shoulder to waist taper. (7) "Sanforized”. (8) $4.00. That's the exception. Less than the standard price for a shirt with all these standards. Bold New Breed by -ARROW Graduates Ash Library Review By JIM HUTTER Emerald Contributor The University Graduate Stu dent Advisory Council has criti cizcd the University Library and a formal investigation was re quested at the council’s meeting Thursday. They have recommend ed to University President Arthur Flemming that he appoint a pan el of experts from outside the university to conduct an investi gation into present library poli cies and practices. The committee recommendation follows an appearance by Univer sity Librarian Carl Hintz at a committee meeting. Several sub sequent meetings by a committee of the GSAC were held to dis cuss grievances against the li brary. It decided that a formal in vestigation was necessary, as well as making its own recommenda tions for changes. The letter adopted hy the full council at its Thursday night meeting reads as follows: “In light of numerous com plaints about library services, the GSAC suggests that library op eration be changed along the fol lowing lines: “Sufficient staff should be hired to eliminate current delays in the processing of acquisitions (es pecially periodicals), returned books, and books in the stacks that require reshelving. Equip j mcnt and staff should also be i found to accelerate service in the i reserve book room. “Sufficient funds should be ob tained to allow the immediate re placement of lost and damaged volumes, the acquisition of sev eral copies of stack books in high demand, as well as at least two sets of important periodi I cals and serials, the duplication of 1 periodical files, the purchase of j copying machines more economi i cal to use than Xerox, the dis ! trjbution each term to faculty and graduate students of lists of new books in their disciplines and the extension of library hours, “Certain improvements should not require additional funds. These include the identification i in the card catalog of books lost or on reserve, the simplification of checkout procedure, and the shelving of new books within the divisional libraries rather than on one shelf near circulation desk. “The GSAC suggests that a com mittee, preferably experts from outside the University be cho sen to examine these questions and recommend improvements where they seem necessary.” In other business, the commit tee noted that many departments and schooLs on campus have no representatives to the GSAC meetings on a regular basis. V o> tarntulcitioni MARY BRENNAN DELTA CHI PUSH CART PRINCESS For the best of Everything Corner of Broadway and Charnelton Phone 345-011
