The New York Times · 20 July 1988
CP-1988-100
Blaring From All Radios
HESKEL M. HADDAD / President, World Organization for Jews from Arab Countries
Transcribed from the clipping
To the Editor: Karl Meyer writes (“Why the Palestinians Left,” Editorial Notebook, July 7) that Benny Morris, an Israeli journalist in a book called “The Birth of the Palestinian Refugee Problem, 1947-49,” found no evidence of Arab broadcasts giving instructions to the Palestinian Arabs to leave their homes in the wake of the Arab armies' invasion of Palestine.
Where could Mr. Morris find such evidence? Are there transcripts of such broadcasts, or are there tapes? If there are such transcripts or tapes they are not available in the Israeli, British and American archives of declassified state papers where Mr. Morris looked.
I can state categorically that when I was in Baghdad in 1948, the broadcasts were blaring from all Arab radios, shortwave and other, imploring the Arab population of Palestine to leave their homes in the war zones to return with the victorious Arab armies and claim not only their homes but also Jewish homes.
After Israel had won and the Arabs faced a fait accompli of the war's outcome, we Jews of Iraq were told that we were being thrown out of Iraq to vacate our homes for the Palestinian Arab refugees.
Maybe some of the Arabs left in confusion, maybe some left in fear, but there is no question that the Arab governments and the Arab radios made such broadcasts imploring Arabs in Palestine to leave their homes. There is no question that we Jews of Arab countries were forced to leave our homes, though we were not involved in the war.
To end this bitter dispute, the refugee problem, both Jewish and Arab, should be resolved, and there should be a resettlement of the Palestinian Arab refugees so that they can live in homes and lead a respectable life, and in order that the Palestinian problem can be diluted and become more amenable for a political solution.
Cite this clipping
"Blaring From All Radios," The New York Times, 20 July 1988. Covering Palestine archive, CP-1988-100. https://coveringpalestine.org/archive/cp-1988-100
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Last updated 2 November 2026
This record is part of Covering Palestine, an archive of American newspaper clippings about Palestinians, 1724 to 2023. Researched and assembled by Maria Robles.
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