October 2, 1948 Israel Offers Peace

The following is a report on the Haifa events by a British eye-witness published in the London “Economist” of October 2^nd, 1948:―

“During subsequent days the Jewish authorities, who were now in complete control of Haifa (save for limited districts still held by the British troops), urged all Arabs to remain in Haifa and guaranteed them protection and security.  As far as I know, most of the British civilian residents whose advice was asked by Arab friends told the latter that they would be wise to stay.  However, of the 62,000 Arabs who formerly lived in Haifa, not more than 5,000-6,000 remained.  Various factors influenced their decision to seek safety in flight.  There is but little doubt that the most potent of these factors were the announcements made over the air by the Arab Higher Executive, urging all Arabs in Haifa to quit….It was clearly intimated that those Arabs who remained in Haifa and accepted Jewish protection would be regarded as renegades.”

Source: Commission on International Affairs, American Jewish Congress. Hard Questions and Answers on the Middle East