THE UNHOLY LAND by A.C. Forrest
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1 THE UNHOLY LAND By A.C. Forrest Originally Published by: The Canadian Publishers McClelland and Stewart Limited 25 Hollinger Road, Toronto Clothbound 0-7710-3163-7 Paperback 0-7710-3161-0 2 CONTENTS Introduction 3 Foreword to the 1972 Edition 8 1. The Holy Land – 1970................................................................................ 10 2. East of the Jordan........................................................................................ 16 3. Back to the Tents ........................................................................................ 19 4. A Night in the Worst Camp in the World .................................................. 24 5. How Egypt Looked After the New Refugees............................................. 29 6. In Syria the Suffering Has Been Greatest................................................... 32 7. Triumphant Israel – 1967............................................................................ 36 8. What Happened When I Criticized Israel................................................... 39 9. The Palestine Problem ................................................................................ 49 10. Myths About the Middle East..................................................................... 54 11. A Kindergarten Lesson on Islam ................................................................ 61 12. What Is Zionism? ....................................................................................... 63 13. An Industrious People................................................................................. 68 14. Te Economic Refugees ............................................................................... 72 15. When an Arab Village Is Bombed.............................................................. 75 16. What Happened on the Golan Heights........................................................ 79 17. Life for Syrian Refugees............................................................................. 87 18. The Fedayeen.............................................................................................. 91 19. The Arabs in Israel...................................................................................... 99 20. The Jews in Arab Countries........................................................................ 104 21. Oh Jerusalem! ............................................................................................ 110 22. Dissidents in Israel...................................................................................... 118 23. Israel and International Law ....................................................................... 123 24. Israel's Prisons Are Crammed..................................................................... 128 25. Is there Anything We Can Do? .................................................................. 131 Postscript ................................................................................................................ 139 3 NOTE: This reproduction of The Unholy Land is taken from the clothbound edition: 0-7710-3163-7 Jacket Flap: Dr. A.C. Forrest sees the Middle East situation as "the most threatening in the world today." The Unholy Land is his personal, informed and uncompromising stand against what he considers to be imbalanced and distorted news coverage of the human tragedy brought about by the Arab-Israeli conflict in the Middle East. The focus of The Unholy Land is on the plight of the Palestinian refugees, both those who fled during and after the dramatic six-day war of June 1967, and those who have been refugees since 1948. Dr. Forrest has read widely about his subject, and travelled extensively in the Middle East: to Israel, Jordan, Syria and Egypt, among other countries. Following the June 1967 six-day war, he was asked by a syndicate of North American church papers to assist in studying the new refugee situation - over 300,000 Arabs had fled from the fighting zones. During 1968, 1969 and 1970 he revisited seven Arab countries and went five times to Israel. He talked personally with Israeli government officials and their Israeli opponents, with Arab industrialists and Arab paupers, with moderates and extremists on both sides. He describes the many refugee camps he visited, where he felt living conditions were inhuman, degradation and violent death commonplace. Dr. Forrest has received wide television coverage, his reports have been published in numerous North American magazines, and a special series on Palestinian refugees was syndicated by the Toronto Star. The views he expressed in The Unholy Land are often shocking, but his broad experience on his subject, both intellectual and personal, has won him a respectful and fast-growing following. Dr. A.C. Forrest is well known in Canada for his outspoken concern as a humanitarian on controversial issues, both secular and religious. He has been the Editor of the United Church Observer for fifteen years, has for twenty years written a weekly column for several major daily newspapers, and has frequently published articles in Canadian magazines. He is author of Not Tomorrow, Now - a book of travel and commentary about Africa and Middle East, published in 1960. ______________________ 4 Introduction It seems that every Middle East fact-finding group - of which there have been many recently - emphasizes the need for greater understanding of the complex Arab-Israeli issues. This book is my contribution to such understanding. It is a summary of what I have seen and heard in the Middle East and what I have learned about the struggle since June 1967. Although I had been to the Middle East Several times before, I returned in July 1967 to report on the refugee situation for a syndicate of North American church magazines. I went back again for ten months between September 1968 and June 1969 and again for the month of May 1970. During these years I have come to share with other outsiders who know and appreciate the Arab and Israeli people, a three-fold concern: that positive steps be taken to avoid another war that may engulf us all; that the long suffering of the Palestine refugees be ended; and that the security of the Jewish people be assured. It is only after clearing away the smothering accumulation of propaganda and distortion which always confounds an intelligent discussion of Arab-Israeli relations, and letting the facts get through, that we who live outside may evaluate the issues and support - or even initiate - policies that may end the strife. During my ten months stint, when I was editor-at-large of The United Chruch Observer, writing for Presbyterian Life, The United Church Herald (US), Together (Methodist), The Episcopalian, The Lutheran and a few others, my family and I lived in Beirut. I travelled regularly to Jordan, Syria, and the UAR, and on four occasions to Israel. Usually I crossed the Jordan River at the Allenby Bridge. There were no difficulties at any time with either Arabs or Israelis, although a Kuwaiti official demanded to see my "other" passport once and when he saw an Israeli stamp on it refused a visa, though he was very nice about it. A telephone call or two worked that out. It is necessary when securing visas or other permits to do things the way the Israeli and Arab officials want them done and not be upset when the bureaucrats waste a little time on the paper work. After all, despite the cease-fire arrangements, there is a war on in the Middle East and the stakes are high. The Israelis are security-conscious and the Arabs tend to be suspicious of strangers. But I had no real unpleasantness and I speak with considerable enthusiasm of both Israeli and Arab hospitality. They are such nice people that I wish they could all enjoy permanent peace and prosperity. It was my privilege during my many visits to have interviews with a number of leaders and officials in both Israel and the Arab world. I think, however, I learned more from my many contacts with UN and Red Cross officials and representatives of other agencies. I admit with some embarrassment though that while I visited the area three times, talked with many people, and did quite a bit of reading, I didn't really come to understand what the struggle was all about until after the June war. 5 When I was forced that summer to do my homework and discovered how different the true story was from what I had heard and read in the West, I felt betrayed by the newspapers and broadcast media I had trusted. I still feel betrayed when I read the editorials, letters to the editor, and some of the news despatches in my daily newspapers, or listen to a fundamentalist preacher explain, after he has had a free guided tour to Israel, how it was God's will for Israel to take Palestine. There are many things this book does not attempt to do. I do not, for example, try to tell again what has been so adequately and frequently told on television and in the press, the story of Israeli accomplishments ono the land where the Jewish people have been building a Jewish state. I cannot help but believe that through all their sufferings and persecution, so often at the hands of people called Christians, the Jews have emerged a superior race. (Of course, that does suggest others are inferior.) In art, music, drama - in the making of books, and the miracles on the land, in so many things, Israel has excelled. True, the US and world Jewry have poured in billions to do it with, but many peoples would have squandered much of such aid. None, I suspect - although the Japanese