The United Nations and Middle East refugees: the differing treatment of Palestinians and Jews

Rationale--Over the past century, the Arab-Israeli conflict has dominated Middle East affairs. The ultimate and inevitable victims of these years of strife have been the people of the region who were uprooted from their homes and displaced. Two populations of refugees emerged – Palestinians from mandated Palestine and Jews from Arab countries - both groups recognized as bone fide refugees by the relevant UN Agencies. The UN, through statute and precedent, has developed international standards and mechanisms for the protection, resettlement and rehabilitation of refugees around the world. This dissertation will examine whether there was any anomaly in the way the UN responded to these two different Middle East refugee populations. Methods--To determine whether, in fact, such an anomaly existed, research was conducted, among other places, at the following sites: Archives at the UN Headquarters ( New York and Geneva); Archives of the UNHCR Headquarters (Geneva); U.S. National Archives and Records Administration (College Park, MD); National Archives of Canada (Ottawa); World Jewish Congress Archives (New York and Jerusalem); American Jewish Committee Archives (New York); and Central Zionist Archives (Jerusalem). The following archival records were reviewed and analyzed: 1) Resolutions of the UN General Assembly and Security Council; 2) Transcripts of UN General Assembly and Security Council proceedings; 3) Transcripts of UNRWA and UNHCR proceedings; 4) Bi-lateral and Multilateral Treaties; Agreements and Proceedings of Multinational Entities (e.g. Quartet, Arab League; etc.); and 5) Books, Memoirs of Statesmen on Middle East Affairs, Articles. Results-- Extensive research into voting patterns and UN meeting transcripts reveal that the UN did accord differential treatment to Palestinian refugees, by every measure, including, among others: UN resolutions; UN Agency involvement; and financial support. Conclusion-- This dissertation will attempt to answer, among others, the following questions: Why would the UN react so differently towards Palestinian and Jewish refugees? Is all this a case study in the uniqueness of the Jews? Or in UN bias? Or collusion by Arab states; or in how a seemingly objective international organization can be is subverted politically?Ph. D.Includes abstractVitaIncludes bibliographical referencesby Stanley A. Urma