ARMS AND THE ISRAELIS

To the Editors of the CRIMSON:

Your editorial of February 3, "Looking Over Jordan," states that "both Israel and the Arab nations are entitled to equal protection." Yet, nonetheless, the editorial maintains that Israel's arms request, to balance Egypt's recently swollen supply of arms from Czechoslovakia, should go unheeded. Instead of your claim that "we would be committed to the protection of Israel alone," we seem, by with-holding these defensive weapons, to be committed to protection of Arab dictators alone.

The editorial goes on to assert blandly that United States and United Nations action would be taken against Arab aggressors in the event of their swarming across Israel's borders--something every Arab dictator has sworn to do ... We should all not the small size of the Israeli state. Within hours, far shorter time than it would take a U.N. or U.S. force to be fighting ... Israel would no longer remain on the map. Without weapons for defense she could not face the blitzkrieg of Soviet war machines.

Let us not forget that no U.S. or U.N. army prevented the forces of seven Arab nations from invading Israel in 1948, a time when both East and West joined together in recognizing Israel's right to independence. Moreover, it is unlikely that there will be a repetition of the chance provided by the walkout of the Russian delegation ... which enabled U.N. troops to be authorized by the Security Council to defend Korea. A Soviet veto in the Security Council is to be expected in the light of present East-West relations. It is also clear that your suggestion that the Philippines send troops as a neutral nation would be vetoed by Russia and Egypt. It is obvious that Russia hardly considers the Philippines a neutral nation, since she vetoed its entrance into the Security Council some weeks ago ....

The Arabs, the editorial states, may be placated. We should help resettle the 650,000 refugees of the Arab war against Israel in 1948. However, these refugees are not the "roots of Arab hostility," but rather a symptom of that hostility .... Clearly, one cannot arrange a discussion of peace terms and agreements between two nations when one persists in denying the existence of the other. To placate here can only mean another Munich. Gerald M. Kolodny'58