Arab Idea: Jewish State Like Vatican, Associated Press, San Francisco Chronicle, July 12, 1948.

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CAIRO, July 11 (AP)-Abdel Rahman Azzam Pasha, secretary-general of the Arab League, proposed tonight that the world consider setting up a symbolic state such as Vatican City to represent its 12,000,000 Jews.

The leader of the league, which represents seven Arab nations in the Middle East, outlined his proposal in an interview.

Declaring it is obviously impossible to get the world’s 12,000,000 Jews into one country of their own, Azzam Pasha said a state such as the Vatican would meet their “religious fanaticism” without exposing them to a divided loyalty-and resulting anti-Semicism-in the countries where they live.

“Anything that is good for 500,000,000 Catholics would be good enough for 12,000,000 Jews,” the Arab spokesman said.

“It can be called a Jewish state-Israel. It can have delegates from various countries, thus really representing the Jews of the world. The Jewish state as it is now is half Arab and half Jewish, with one-half persecuting the other, and that half is quarreling among itself, and this is supposed to represent the Jews of the world. It is the greatest fallacy and delusion the Jewish people can ever get. If the Jewish Communists of Israel became a majority then it would become a Communist state, not a Jewish state,”

A Vatican-like state, Azzam Pasha continued, could have Ambassadors and Ministers, be a member of the U. N., and have the right to speak in the name of the world’s Jews.

Asked whether the Arabs would agree to such a state being set up in Palestine, he said that is another question. Then he added- “I do not care where it is because it would have no national aspirations and no aggressive intentions against other countries.”

Jews in the United States and other countries could be represented in such a state and still be loyal citizens of their own countries, he said, adding- “It would save the Jews from being exposed to future anti-Semitism.”